The Long Road Home
by PMOHWinters
Summary: In a bleak alternate universe, Humanity is banished from Earth and forced to roam the cold, unforgiving void. With their homeworld lost, it is up to a brave few to tread the dangerous path to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
1. History 101

AN: Yes, I know I should really be trying to update Conflict of Interest, but I had this fic idea bouncing around my head for quite a while, and I really REALLY wanted to get it out.

Chapter 1: History 101

Welcome to the fleetwide universal database. My name is Eurale, how may I help you?++

………….

Your request has been received and is currently being processed. This may take a moment. Would you like to hear the news?++

………….

The date is currently March 27, 2752. The fleetwide threat level has been downgraded to blue. Contact with the Covenant is down from last week, due to additional internal conflicts. So far, no new developments have turned up in our search for home, but I will be sure to notify you if anything changes.++

…………

The file you requested has been found, would you like me to display it?++

…….

Confirmed. Displaying the file now. Have a nice day.++

**FILENAME: EXODUS  
****SUMMARY: A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS AND THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO IT  
****AUTHOR: CLASSIFIED**

As you know, most of our history and data pre-Exodus has been lost, and what we have now is sketchy at best. However, due to diligent research and use of several unconventional methods, I have been able to confirm the events leading up to the Exodus, as well as the terrible event itself. Let's begin with a little background.

As you know, the Covenant is and has always been Humanity's mortal adversary. They are a conglomeration of various alien species all united under a strict, radical religious dogma. We have been at war with the Covenant ever since the year 2525, though the early decades of the conflict proved to be very unsuccessful for Humanity. Unlike today, our ancestors did not have the benefit of super-advanced technology to effectively fight off the Covenant, however, the basis for most of our current technology lies rooted in this conflict.

However, at the center of this was the SPARTAN super-soldier program, which created some of the most fearsome and efficient warriors ever known. Unfortunately, due to its secret nature and the chaos of the Exodus, almost no data of the project itself exists, meaning that it is the one piece of pre-Exodus technology that we have been unable to replicate. However, the news accounts and military reports of their actions still remain, and using those, we have been able to piece together what had happened.

It all started in the year 2552, roughly 25 years into the Human-Covenant War. The United Nations Space Command, the current government of the time, knew that it was losing the war against the Covenant. In a huge gamble, the UNSC decided to gather all of its Spartans together in a single mission that would decide the fate of Humanity. The Spartans were to hijack a Covenant capital ship, subvert its systems, and use it to find the Covenant homeworld. All necessary preparations were taken at the fortress world of Reach, Earth's last line of defense. All of the Spartans were loaded onto a transport ship and sent off.

Unfortunately, they were sent to the completely wrong drop zone. Nobody knows why, but the ship made the transition to Slipspace and jumped to the gas giant Threshold. Through scrambled and broken transmissions relayed from an ONI Prowler which just happened to be in the area revealed that the Spartans had stumbled onto one of the Forerunner ring worlds, or Halos. Judging from the wreckage of other Halos we have stumbled across during our long trek, it is not impossible to imagine that the Spartans took advantage of the Halos' networked nature to somehow destroy all of them simultaneously. Though we are still unsure of their true purpose, it would be safe to assume that Spartans thought it would be better not to let any of them fall into Covenant hands. All contact with the Spartans was lost after that and all are assumed dead.

Even though the Covenant were denied the Halos, the overall operation was considered a disastrous failure. In one fell swoop, the UNSC had lost their gamble and squandered their entire contingent of Spartans.

This led some people to propose a secondary plan.

In order to guarantee the survival of Humanity, the UNSC enacted Project Exodus, an evacuation plan of unrivaled magnitude. Resources were pooled from all their remaining colonies to build massive, self-sufficient colony fleets in the hope that if Earth, Reach, and the rest of the colonies were destroyed, Humanity could still survive somewhere out there. By the time the massive colony fleets were built and assembled, Reach had already fallen, and there was greater desperation to ready the fleets.

Unfortunately, before the Exodus could begin, tragedy struck. One of the AIs managing the operation suddenly went rampant and began corrupting the data cores of every ship in the fleet, as well as transmitting random signals into Slipspace. With the location of Earth marked like a beacon, the Covenant staged a massive attack on Earth. With no time left, Admiral Miranda Keyes ordered all flagships to immediately transition to Slipspace and jump to a random location, relaying it to their own fleets. This daring move proved to both the saving grace and tragic bane of Humanity. Though we were saved, Humanity was scattered across the stars. As a result of the data corruption, must data on the period between the 21st century and the 26th was lost, including star charts and coordinates, effectively erasing all knowledge of the location of Earth or any other UNSC colony. With no way to reunite and with no central banner, like a homeworld, to rally around, the fleets were left to wander for the next century. By the time the fleets began making contact with one another again, they had become so changed and individualistic, it was difficult, if not impossible, for them to reform. Humanity was reduced to roving bands of nomads, or Exiles as we later became known as.

Not all was lost, however. Sudden internal conflict within the Covenant, possibly as a result of the destruction of the Halos, sparked a massive civil war, splitting the Covenant in half. Now the Covenant Imperium and the Covenant Republic spend too much time fighting each other to pay any attention to us Exiles, much to our benefit.

Finally, there is the issue of current events. As a result of the massive fleetwide data corruption, uncorrupted pre-Exodus data has now become a precious commodity even more valuable than gold. Some individuals and fleets make it their purpose to find it.

Also, there is the recent introduction of "meta-humans", humans that have developed extra-sensory powers. Though these individuals only compromise less than half a percent of the total human population, their existence has proven to be a great boon to us. Whether their arrival has come in time, however, remains to be seen…

END DOCUMENT

**_UNSC Pegasus_: Stateroom 35**

Lynn Wellings sighed as she pored over the data file for the hundredth time. Sadly, this was the only and therefore most complete pre-Exodus history that Exile Fleet Earth possessed. It was quite ironic. The most largest, most militaristic, and most advanced Exile fleet in the sector had almost no history of its own past. Sadly, that was the case of almost every other Exile Fleet out there.

Lynn then turned to see a piece of paper with writing on it that was not there two seconds ago. The paper was definitely hers, and the writing was written in her own handwriting. However, Lynn had no recollection of ever writing such a thing. She wasn't surprised though, as this happened all the time.

She was a meta-human, after all.

Being one of the rare meta-humans in the fleet, Lynn of course had odd, unexplainable powers. Meta-humans had all kinds of powers, ranging from the ability to control fire, water, or even magnetism itself. Lynn had emphatic and telepathic abilities, allowing her to feel and read the thoughts of others. She also had very powerful telekinetic abilities, which of course proved useful in combat. However, her most valuable skill was that of precognition, which had served to help the fleet in countless crucial moments.

However, her predictions often proved to occur at completely random times. They are all usually very cryptic and not easily understood, and sometimes they weren't completely accurate. All of these predictions usually occurred through a written note that appeared out of nowhere, such as right now.

Lynn sighed and picked up the note, wondering what it would say. She scanned the lines and read along:

_Salvation lies near the Threshold.  
__Among the shattered remains of the fallen angel.  
__Supported by the winds of Autumn.  
__A Spartan sleeps in his silent coffin.  
__Wielding the power of Thor himself.  
__He will lead us to where the mighty ship lies.  
__He will lead us back to our rightful place.  
__He will lead us to our long lost home.  
__Earth…_


	2. Scavenger Hunt

Chapter 2: Scavenger Hunt

**Abregado, Melanar System**

Kyle Carter cursed as a grenade blast shattered the rocks behind him. Even with his protective EXCALIBUR powered armor, he could still feel the shockwave rattle his bones and teeth. To make things worse, he was now being showered with debris. Rocks and pebbles rained down and bounced and clattered off his armor. Suddenly, his helmet HUD blared:

WARNING! YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK!

"Yeah, what a timely warning." Kyle growled as he heard more grenades clattering on the ground.

Kyle shunted power to his leg servos and leapt high into the air. He looked down to see three more explosions at the spot where he was standing before landing in another craggy outcrop of rocks.

He cursed again. He wasn't sure who his assailants were, but he was definitely sure of what they were after, the data crystal in his pack. Kyle was one of the many individuals known as Scavengers, or "scavs" as they tended to be called. Like their namesake, Scavengers basically spent their time roaming the galactic void searching for pre-Exodus data. Success was low, but the rewards were great. Many Exile fleets would gladly hand over one of their ships or pay a great sum to obtain even a single line of uncorrupted pre-Exodus code.

Of course, a job like this certainly had its downsides. Many scavengers were considered outcasts, mainly because most of them decided to abandon their Exile fleets. All scavengers had their reasons, ranging from the need to be free, to explore the galaxy, or were motivated by just plain old greed. Also, there were a lot of hazards to think about. There were the hazards associated with prolonged space travel, Covenant encounters, and in Kyle's case, rival scavengers.

"Come on, just give me a direction." Kyle said to his suit.

ERROR: DIRECTIONAL THREAT ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS OFFLINE

"Typical." Kyle really had to get a new suit of armor. "It looks like I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

Kyle slowly and carefully peeked over the edge of the outcropping. He caught sight of several bright flashes a few hundred meters to his left and ducked as the top of the outcropping was incinerated.

Kyle took a brief glance at the damage and figured that his rivals had particle weaponry. These guys were certainly decked out with some high-tech stuff, which meant they were veterans. Kyle looked at his own, relatively paltry armament. All he had were a handful of grenades, an M8 pistol, and his MA10 rail rifle.

During the past two centuries, Humanity slowly began to realize that their current small arms weaponry was quickly becoming outmoded. Some research and the discovery of revolutionary, small-scale power sources led to the development of MPMACs, Man Portable Magnetic Accelerator Cannons. Before that, a man-portable MAC usually required a battery pack the size of a Warthog. However, the discovery of high-yield, super efficient Covenant and Forerunner batteries allowed Exile engineers to scale down the destructive power of MACs into the hands of the individual soldier. This proved to a blessing against the higher-tier Covenant troops, who tended to be physically tougher and shielded. Of course, research into other weapon types took place, such as particle cannons, though they tended to be used for anti-vehicular purposes. Unfortunately, Kyle was currently on the receiving end that that particular project.

Another blue beam of light flashed by, superheating the air and softening the surrounding rock. Kyle knew that particle weaponry tended to perform better at long distances, which meant he had to close in if he could stand any chance.

"I hope the optic camo function still works." Kyle growled.

OPTICAL CAMOFLAUGE ACTIVATED: APPROXIMATE RUN TIME 6:00

Kyle knew he wouldn't have much time. He leapt to the ground below and began to sprint towards the enemy position, putting as much power as he could into his legs.

WARNING: ARMOR USE IS EXCEEDING RECOMMENDED SAFEGUARDS. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN IN-

Kyle quickly pressed a rapid button sequence in response to the prompt.

MANUAL OVERRIDE CONFIRMED. SAFEGUARDS DISENGAGED.

Of course, the armor's safeguards were meant to prevent the suit from killing its wearer. It was a tragic and painful lesson, but engineers finally figured out that the suits were infinitely stronger and more robust than the people wearing them, and a lot of injuries resulted from too much sensitivity and powered movement. The true potential of the suits had to be scaled back significantly to run on only a fraction of their power. However, some individuals were daring or capable enough to bypass these limitations. Lynn for example could utilize her suit more efficiently, using her mental capabilities to more precisely control her movements, but that was only the exception.

Kyle knew he was getting close. He could hear the gentle hum of a particle cannon recharging. He rounded another rock and finally caught sight of his assailants. There were three individuals wearing black armor highlighted with crimson stripes. Two were armed with rail rifles while the third was using a large shoulder-mounted weapon which Kyle assumed was the particle beam. Without hesitation, he took aim and fired. His first burst blew the third person's head off, splattering the area with bone shards and pieces of brain. Kyle fired again and caught the first person full in the chest. The man gurgled and twitched as rail rounds pierced his ribs and heart.

By this time, the force of Kyle's rail rifle firing disrupted his optic camouflage, rendering him visible again. The first person caught sight of Kyle, whipped around, and aimed his rifle, but Kyle was faster.

Rail rounds slammed into the hapless enemy, but he was still standing, completely unscathed. Kyle noticed the faint blue shimmer on the edges of the other person's armor and realized he was equipped with energy shielding. It was rare to see something like that, as the size and weight of the equipment required to create and power a practical shielding system would exceed normal safeguards.

However, this guy didn't seem too concerned. Kyle dove to the ground as rail rounds flew through the air. Kyle thought for a second. He could try to get back up and return fire, but that meant he would have to break cover. In a one-on-one fight like this, the guy with the shields would inevitably win, so that tactic was out of the question.

Kyle then felt around his belt for anything useful. He had four frag grenades, and was surprised when he realized he was carrying a pair of plasma grenades. He usually didn't carry Covenant weaponry with him, but he had only done so at Lynn's suggestion.

"You'll probably need them." She said as she handed those grenades to him several weeks back. Kyle could still remember the innocent smile on her face.

That was the creepy thing whenever he was with her. He could never tell whether Lynn was kidding or actually being deadly serious.

Acting quickly, Kyle lobbed his first grenade. The ball of fuzzy blue energy stuck itself to the surface of the rival scavenger's shield like a barnacle. The scavenger looked down blankly at the grenade stuck to his chest a split second before it exploded. The blast was enough to overpower the scavenger's shields and knock him to the ground. Unfortunately, as Kyle began to aim his rifle, he remembered that he had forgotten to reengage his armor's safeguards. His arm servos overcompensated and moved with enough power to yank Kyle's right elbow out its socket. Kyle bit back a curse and dropped his rifle, opting to use his last plasma grenade instead. The sticky grenade stuck to the still dazed rival's head and exploded, incinerating it and the top half of his body.

Seeing that the threat was over, Kyle finally began to relax. Making sure his safeguards were engaged this time, Kyle bit down and popped his elbow back into place.

"I swear, sometimes I hate my job." Kyle muttered as he checked the data crystal he was carrying. He looked to see if he could scavenge the particle cannon, only to find that the two plasma grenade explosions had totally trashed it. "Just my luck."

Kyle bent down and scavenged what he could from the dead scavengers. It wasn't all bad, as he had managed to collect a satchel of spare rail rifle clips, battery packs, and rations. He also managed to procure a few data crystals from them, but he had no idea what kind of data they possessed. He would have to get to a proper terminal to analyze them.

His task done, Kyle brushed the dust off of his armor and began to make his way to the rendezvous point.

**Half Rock Flats**

Kyle watched as the Pelican transport slowly set down next to the rock he was sitting on. Now came, in Kyle's opinion, the most dangerous part of the job, the actual deal with the client. Though he knew that the people from Exile Fleet Earth could be trusted, he knew it would be better to be prepared for anything, hence the pistol he had concealed under a nearby rock.

"Kyle Carter, it's been a while since I've seen you." A familiar voice said. A woman with short white hair and an angular, military face strode down the Pelican's ramp.

Kyle then relaxed and replied, "Same to you. I hope you haven't gained too much weight sitting in that desk on _Pegasus_, Lieutenant Blackwater."

Lieutenant Jillian Blackwater was Kyle's field contact for Exile Fleet Earth. He knew that he could trust her.

"Ha ha, very funny." Jillian smirked, "and since when did you start calling me by my rank, Kyle? It just sounds damn creepy."

"Must be the lack of sleep." Kyle shrugged.

"Anyways, I was told that you've managed to get your hands on some uncorrupted pre-Exodus data."

"That's right." Kyle took out the data crystal and handed it over to Jillian. "All in one piece."

"I'm sure." Jillian said. She took the crystal and inserted it into a portable data pad. It would automatically scan the crystal for any signs of corruption or error. "So, while we wait for this thing to finish, what've you been up to since our last contact?"

"Oh, the usual, dodging rival scavengers, risking life and limb in the vague hope of finding something big, the usual." Kyle shrugged, "So how are things going with the Fleet? It's been a long time since I've bothered to check."

"Not good." Jillian frowned, "There are a lot of rumors floating around that the Covenant Imperium and Republic are considering a truce, which would be really bad for us."

"Because that means the Imperium would have more resources to hunt us down."

"That's right." Jillian sighed, "What I hate is the fact that combined, the fleets probably have the numbers and the tech to repel any Covenant assault, yet that would never happen. None of the fleets are really united in any way, and there's very little to motivate most of them into banding together or fighting the Covenant. It's as if they've decided to just float in space for one of two choices: whither and die or be hunted down by the Covenant."

"This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper." Kyle said sagely.

"Where'd you get that?" Jillian asked, surprised, "I never thought you to be the intellectual type."

"Oh, I just got that quote from a book I happened to find down here." Kyle gave a sloppy grin and pulled a tattered book out of his pack and showed it to Jillian. "I didn't really have much else to do for the past few days waiting for you to get your fat ass down here."

Jillian ignored Kyle's insult and examined the book. "_The Hollow Men_ by T.S. Eliot."

"Never knew him."

"This is a hardcover. These things are extremely rare." Jillian's eyes glimmered with fascination, like a child getting free candy. "You mind if I keep it?"

"Sure, go ahead." Kyle sniffed.

Suddenly, the data pad pinged, notifying that it was finished. Jillian examined the results and said, "Unbelievable, no corruption and brimming with data. Do you want to see it?"

"No thanks." Kyle shook his head. "I never look at what I get. Keeps things simple to not know things like this. Oh, and you now about your end of the deal, right?"

"Yeah, a complete overhaul of your ship, a full upgrade cycle on all primary systems, as well as complete resupply, all free of charge."

"Pretty much."

"You don't ask for much, do you?." Jillian sighed and began to pack up her equipment and looked up at the darkening sky. "It's almost nightfall. You want me to give you a ride back to your ship?"

"Nah, I'm good." Kyle sat back and began to stare at the brightening stars. "Anything else?"

"Well, now that you mention it…" Jillian scratched her head, "You might want to make your way back to the Fleet ASAP. There are a lot of things going down, and there are quite a few people who would feel a whole lot better if you were around to help sort it all out."

"The drama never ends, does it?"

"No, I suppose not." Jillian walked up to her Pelican and saluted, "Until next time."

Kyle waved in response. He then laid back on the ground as he watched the Pelican disappear into the night sky. Soon, it was reduced a tiny, bright twinkle of light, just one of many in the endless sea of stars in the night sky.

"I love my job." Kyle said proudly.


	3. It's Magic!

Chapter 3: It's Magic!

_**Pegasus**_

"I'm sorry, but we can't pursue this." Keyes sighed.

Admiral Robert Keyes, descendent of the legendary Admiral Miranda Keyes, was the commander-in-chief of all of Exile Fleet Earth's military forces both naval and ground. He had been in his position for well over twenty years and during that time, the Fleet had never had an encounter with the Covenant that it couldn't deal with. Keyes was considered a military genius, and almost everybody in the Fleet implicitly trusted his decisions.

However, despite popular belief, Keyes did NOT control the fleet as a whole. The Fleet was actually controlled by a democratic body dubbed the Senate, the entire system being derived from a millennia old document. Since it was data copied in a hard format, the Constitution was obviously free from electronic tampering, and therefore became the basis for the fleet's style of government. Each ship within the fleet had its own representative and convened into a body known as the Senate to decide upon Fleet affairs. Keyes was appointed as the "President" and was given full military and executive control over the Fleet, but could not override the Senate's decisions.

"We've run all of the keywords through our database, and frankly, we just don't have enough information to pursue it." He continued. "Words like Threshold, Thor, and angel just give us junk information, and the only match Spartan gives is some vague military reports and a single historical entry. Plus, we all know that the Spartans aren't around anymore. Even if they did survive that suicide mission, I severely doubt that they can even live for the two centuries that have passed."

However, Lynn was not deterred and said, "I understand sir, but-"

"But what?' A cold, calculating voice emanated from behind Lynn, "Run the search again? It will just give us the same results. Besides, many of your more recent 'visions' have begun to become less… reliable."

"Ackerson." Keyes narrowed his eyes, "What do you want?"

Vice-Admiral Stryker Ackerson could be considered the antithesis of Keyes. An efficient and somewhat brutal man, Ackerson had a less forgiving view on others, and tended to fight from a more political perspective. He was generally disliked by many, but his ability to successfully conduct special operations was too invaluable to waste. Also, he was the only man in the entire fleet who had specifically installed implants to counter Lynn's telepathy, a move that has made her rather nervous over the years.

"I'm merely here to inform you that our friends in Fleet Somm have run into some… trouble." Ackerson's eyes glinted, "Apparently, one of their mining operations has been found out by the Imperium, and they have just requested assistance."

"You wouldn't be telling Keyes this if there wasn't something in it for you." Lynn said harshly.

"Don't be silly," Ackerson shrugged, "Fleet Somm has been a close ally with us for decades. I'm sure they would greatly appreciate our help in assisting their evacuation. After all, their asteroid mines store enough raw titanium to build a small fleet of ships…"

"I'm sure they do." Keyes cut off Ackerson, "I'll inform the Senate and begin to mobilize the fleet." He then turned to Lynn and said, "Sorry, but we'll have to take care of this some other time."

Lynn sighed in disappointment as Keyes and Ackerson disappeared down the hall. Lynn could ultimately understand why Keyes would have to ignore her. He was an incredibly busy man, and had little time to waste on something as vague and unreliable as telepathic precognition. However, it was Ackerson that infuriated her. The man ultimately disliked her for no other reason than because she possessed something he did not. Sure, there were the occasional premonitions that turned out to be wrong, but that was only due to incorrect interpretation and human error.

"So, how did the meeting go?"

Lynn turned to see her friend Sanah appear behind her.

"Not too great. They don't have anything to work on." Lynn said dejectedly.

In all truth, Sanah would appear to be like any other girl Lynn's age. She was of average height, with a sleek build, short blue hair, and sporting a loose, black jumpsuit with the EFE emblem. However, appearances were incredibly deceiving, as Sanah was actually an android.

For centuries, artificial intelligence was a commonly used technology. They proved to be invaluable in just about any field of work from data analysis and manipulation to computer hacking. However, their one big advantage was that they were almost always forced into a static location, making field work almost impossible. They could transmit themselves across networks, but that was assuming there were already communication networks in place that weren't being jammed. They could also be transported via data crystal, but then they would be unable to act unless inserted into a terminal, and if the crystal was lost, it could potentially fall into enemy hands.

However, advanced robotics managed to solve that problem. With scavenged Forerunner Sentinel parts and good old fashioned human know-how, Exile scientists managed to build the first fully functional android. Sanah was a third generation android, possessing the intellect of an AI, as well as speed and strength that exceeded that of any human. When interfaced with an EXCALIBUR powered suit, she was a monster.

Now, many would think it would be incredibly odd for a human and android to be on best friend terms. Usually, androids were considered tools more than people, and nobody really bothered to seriously spend time with any of them. However, Lynn was an exception. As a girl growing up with the power of telepathy, it was a godsend to be able to talk to somebody without inadvertently reading their minds.

"I could've told you the same thing." Sanah clicked and hummed as she rolled her mechanical eyes. "You can't just expect the Admiral to chase down every little dream you get at night."

"Some help you are." Lynn grunted.

"Sorry, but your thinking can be somewhat rigid when you think in terms of predetermined algorithms and programs." Sanah shrugged, "Besides, we have other duties to perform."

"Oh yeah, combat training." Lynn sighed and began to follow Sanah down the hall. "It's not as if the trainers can teach me anything else, seeing as how I'm better than most of them."

"That's not the point." Sanah replied, "Studies have shown that soldiers that keep constant combat practice consistently perform with a 60 increase in performance over those that don't."

"Still, it's boring."

"Quit pouting Lynn, you'll give this fleet a bad image."

"Jill!" Lynn cried happily as she saw Jillian walking down the hall. "How's Kyle?"

"Oh, the usual." Jillian grinned, "He's been running around abandoned planets, getting shot up, all for the chance at a bit of loot."

Jillian then took out the data crystal and showed it to Lynn before continuing.

"I'm just _dying_ to see what's on this crystal! From the looks of it, it's some sort of astronomical data, which would be consistent, since Kyle said he nabbed it from a remote observatory."

"Did he use the grenades?"

"Huh?" Jillian scratched her head, "Never thought to ask about that, but you can ask him yourself, since he's on his way here."

"He's coming back?" Lynn's eyes lit up like supernovas.

"That's right. Part of the deal is that he gets his ship completely overhauled. God knows he needs it. I can't believe he's been flying around space in that junk heap for so long."

_**Nietzsche **_**  
Slipspace: en route to Exile Fleet Earth's position**

"I can't believe we've been flying around space in this junk heap for so long." Kyle muttered as he maneuvered his way around exposed access panels and wires.

"Hey, she may be old, but she's reliable." Kay, the ship's pilot, grunted.

Kay Carter, Kyle's twin sister, was just as adventurous as him, but was decidedly more violent and stubborn. She acted as the pilot and captain of their ship, _Nietzsche_. The ship was an incredibly old UNSC corvette, its service record dating back to pre-Exodus times. Unfortunately, two centuries of use have not been kind to the ship, and it was often a full time job just to keep the entire craft from falling apart. Kay and Kyle got their hands on the ship due to the fact that nobody else wanted it. However, for a pair of freelance scavengers, it was perfect.

"You really should stop arguing." A cool, calm mechanical voice flowed through the bridge, "There is a .03 chance that the sound waves you are producing can knock a data crystal out of alignment."

Hal was the _Nietzsche_'s AI, and very much like the ailing ship, Hal was very old and somewhat imperfect. He would often get caught up in his current task, thought on random tangents, and sometimes acted in a very unnerving manner. However, without him, neither Kyle nor Kay would be able to run the ship.

"Shut up Hal, and make sure the reactor core isn't overheating. I've noticed it's been getting a little warmer." Kay grunted.

_**Pegasus**_

"Mmmm, what a pity." Jilian sighed as she sorted through the recovered data. "All this astronomical data, and there's still no mention of Earth's possible location. At least we'll be able to update a good deal of our maps."

"How much?" Sanah asked.

"Oh, about several systems we never knew were there, as well as the pre-Exodus designations of about half of our known area of space." Jillian pointed to her holographic star chart, "Like these planets we just designated DX-456, YL-938, and LR-534 were actually called Sigma Octanus, Tau Ceti, and Threshold."

"Wait." Lynn narrowed her eyes. "What was the name of that last planet?"

"Threshold." Jillian said, a bit confused. She tapped a few keys on the map and it zoomed into yet another seemingly innocuous star system. "According to what's in these records, Threshold is just a simple gas giant with a bunch of uninhabited moons. Other than that, there's really nothing to set it apart from any other system. I don't why you're so interested-"

Jillian turned around to see that Lynn had disappeared.

"I hate it when she does that." Jillian shook her head and went back to work.

_**Pegasus **_**Primary Repair Bay**

"Damn, when they said overhaul, they definitely weren't kidding!" Chief Engineer Cid Mann exclaimed as he checked over _Nietzsche_. "I think this the first time I had to pull out the whole deck crew on noncombat duty."

"Yeah, well she's built up quite a few light years." Kay said as she looked at the team of mechanics and technicians crawling all over her ship.

"Having a good look at it, it's a miracle that the ship is still in one piece."

"We get by."

"You used _duct tape_ to seal the reactor core coolant lines. If that's 'getting by', I don't even want to know what you did to keep the rest of the ship falling apart."

"What, is that a problem?"

"Well, I'd rather work on a ship without having to worry about my chances of being irradiated depending on several layers of duct tape." Cid pointed out.

"Don't be such a baby, I've done it all the time." Kay smiled, "The trick is to make sure you reapply the tape every couple of days or so."

"Damn scavs…" Cid muttered. He turned back to the crew and yelled, "Hey! Status report!"

The repair crew popped their heads out of whatever hatch or panel they were working on and began to voice their opinions.

"It's a wreck!"

"Totally unsalvageable!"

"A nightmare!"

"So how long till we can fix it?" Cid grinned.

"Seven hours, I guess." One of the mechanics shrugged.

_**Pegasus**_** War Room**

"As you know, we have received a distress call from Exile Fleet Somm, requesting our aid." Keyes said, eyeing the rest of the military commanders and ship captains in the room with him. "Two days ago, one of their mining operations in the Sigma asteroid cluster was discovered by a Covenant scout party. Somm has already begun evacuating their facilities, but there's a lot of valuable equipment and titanium ore to remove."

Keyes pointed to the holographic map, showing a large field of asteroids and dots of varying colors sprinkled within.

"So far, Somm only has twenty combat ready ships to defend the cluster, but since we can expect the Imperium to be coming soon, that won't nearly be enough. This is why I am proposing a Swordwind."

The other captains gasped and began mumbling to each other. Condition Swordwind was only used in the gravest of circumstances, and meant that Exile Fleet Earth would devote all available resources to a certain operation.

"Sir, you realize that if we do this, we send every fighting ship we have over there and leave our own fleet vulnerable." One of the captains spoke.

Keyes faced the man and nodded. "I am aware of the risks. However, Somm is a close ally of ours, and there were multiple occasions where they risked themselves to give us aid. We cannot afford to have them destroyed at the hands of the Imperium, especially if there is something we can do about it."

In the background, Ackerson shook his head in disgust, but like the shadows, he remained unseen.

_Admiral? I need to speak to you._

Keyes did not flinch when he heard the voice in his head. He didn't bother saying anything to it either, as he knew the speaker wasn't in this room.

"The exact details of the operation are being transmitted to your AIs as of this moment. Get your ships prepped and ready for deployment in seven hours."

The holograms of the ship captains all saluted and flickered out.

"Ackerson, I want you to go to the security station and scramble all of the ship control codes."

"May I ask why, sir?"

"Just do it."

Ackerson nodded and exited the room.

"May I ask why you had to contact me so suddenly during an important meeting?" Keyes said to the empty air.

_Oh, you have too little faith in your officers, Admiral. They all know what you're doing and trust your decision._

"You're not answering the question." Keyes sighed. It was always so awkward when trying to telepathically communicate with Lynn. He found that he always had to vocalize what he wanted to say in order to get his thoughts right, or else Lynn might misinterpret him.

_I've hit a breakthrough sir, I think I may have the first clue to the riddle._

"Don't be silly-"

_Threshold. We thought it was some sort of literal doorway, but it isn't! It's a planet, Admiral, and we know where it is!_

"I'm sorry, Lynn, but we're going to have to put those plans on hold. We're moving to assist Somm, and we can't afford to spare any ships, not even a Slipspace-capable fighter."

_But sir, this could lead us to-_

"Look, Lynn." Keyes said sternly, trying to transmit as much authority as he could to her, "As the Admiral of this fleet, I deal in only what I know, and I _know_ that Somm needs our assistance. I know you _feel _that this riddle of yours will lead us to Earth, but I don't _know_ that. Plus, we need you and your skills for the coming battle. I'm sorry, but we'll deal with this after this is all done with."

_But sir,_ The voice pleaded _You know these things only have a very narrow window of time to_-

"No, Lynn. We will pursue this later."

There were a few seconds of silence before Keyes spoke again.

"Oh, and don't even think about trying to steal one of our ships. I've had Ackerson scramble their control codes, and he's the one man who's mind you _can't_ read."

**Observation Deck**

"I'm not intruding, am I?" Kyle asked as he walked into the room. "You look like you're ready to mind-melt the first person you see."

"I'm just in a bad mood." Lynn sighed and hugged Kyle. "So how did things go?"

"I hate to say it, but you were right… again."

"See, I told you sticking people has its uses."

"So, can I tell you what I did while I was away, or did you already snag it all from my head?"

"Sorry." Lynn said sheepishly.

Kyle sighed. "See, this is why talking with you is always so awkward, because you already know what I'm going to say."

"I didn't mean it, honest."

"I know."

"Wait, you're still piloting that old junker, right?"

"You mean _Nietzsche_? Yeah. I'm having her overhauled right now." Kyle motioned toward the docking bay. "I've always flew with her, you know that."

"Sorry, I was just asking."

In an instant, Lynn probed the minds milling about in the docking bay, feeling for Cid's. She then found it, as it was thinking about smacking dancing bananas with wrenches. Lynn found that it was easy to identify people through their secret thoughts, which made the experience much more amusing.

"They're going to be finished in a few hours, right/"

"Yeah, those guys down there work damn _fast_. Last I checked, they were already installing a brand new Slipspace drive…"

"Kyle," Lynn cut him off and pleaded, "I need to ask a very, very big favor of you…"

_**Pegasus**_**'s Bridge**

"Sir, the fleet is ready to jump." One of the bridge technicians announced.

Keyes didn't answer. Doubt was beginning to creep into his mind about whether he should've taken Lynn more seriously. Maybe he had been a little too harsh on the girl-

"Sir?" The technician asked.

Keyes snapped out of his momentary lapse. "Good. Inform all ships to prepare for-"

"Sir!" Another technician yelled, "Sensors indicate a ship leaving the docking bay!"

"What?"

"It appears to be the _Nietzsche_! It's moving on an unknown outbound trajectory."

"Oh, then I see nothing wrong with that." Keyes grumbled, "Mr. Carter probably wanted to jump ship before the fighting started."

Suddenly, it hit him. The ugly thought that he was missing something rather important.

"Euryale, please scan the ship and inform me of Lynn Wellings' position."

"I'm sorry, sir." The AI chimed, "Lynn Wellings' beacon and life signs do not appear to be on the _Pegasus_. However, I am reading a beacon matching hers emanating from the _Nietzsche_."

"I knew it." Keyes shook his head. Whenever he thought he was a step ahead of the girl, she always found a way. Some military genius he was if a twenty year old girl could keep outsmarting him. "Get Ackerson on the line."

_**Nietzsche**_

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kay glanced at the two new passengers. "I mean, going to an uncharted system with these two weirdos."

"We can trust them" Kyle said confidently. "Besides, I thought you wanted to test out the new systems."

"You're right about one thing." Kay smirked as she input the new destination coordinates into the navigation console.

In a flash, the corvette disappeared to destinations unknown.


	4. Graveyard Shift

Chapter 4: Graveyard Shift

_**Nietzsche**_**  
Slipspace transit, en route to Threshold**

"My god," Kay smirked as she glanced at the new control console, "these guys seriously weren't kidding when they said they'd totally revamp the ship."

"I agree." Hal chimed, "My diagnostics show a 27 percent increase in overall efficiency."

"I wish we had more time to repaint and replace some of the older parts of the ship," Kay grumbled, glancing at Kyle, "but Kyle here insisted we leave because his girlfriend asked him so nicely."

"It's not like that. Besides, I doubt you'd want to end up in the middle of a Covenant/Human slugfest." Kyle said, quickly changing the subject.

"True enough."

"Speaking of Lynn, where'd she go?" Kyle glanced around the empty bridge. "She always keeps running off without telling anybody."

"Scanning." Hal said, "I can confirm where Sanah is. She is currently in data repository synchronizing her database with mine. Lynn is apparently at the sensor control module."

"Wait, 'data synchronization'? What the heck is that?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know, I think it's some sort of AI sex or something." Kay replied.

"Okay, I totally regret asking that question now."

"Unlike biological creatures, we AIs are incapable of sexual intercourse." Hal said, somewhat offended and annoyed.

"Yeah, it's pretty much the only thing they _can't_ do." Kay grinned, "Maybe that's why they're always so obnoxious and uptight most of the time."

Kyle decided to exit the room before the argument got a little too hectic. Better to be out of the way before Hal decided to vent the bridge's atmosphere... again.

**Sensor Module**

"I guess it's not enough that you decide to abandon your fleet, but sabotage my ship?" Kyle walked up to the open access panel Lynn was leaning into. "Geez, you sure know how to make a good impression."

"Don't be silly, I'm just trying to get something."

Lynn reached into the open module and pulled out a fairly large, metal case. She unhooked the latches and with a faint, pressurized hiss, the case opened to reveal a sheathed sword sitting within.

"What in god's name is that, and what was it doing in there?" Kyle asked suspiciously.

"It's my sword, you dummy." Lynn said simply. "I hid it here in case they decided to scan the ship. The EM field around the sensor casing would've masked it."

"Wait… is that the same sword that I'm thinking about?"

"That's the one."

"They actually let you KEEP it?!"

"Well of course not, why did you think I had to hide it in here?" Lynn grinned.

The sword in question was a Forerunner Phase Sword, which Kyle and Lynn had recovered from an old Forerunner installation two years ago. They were unsure of what was so special about the sword at first, until they discovered that it could cut through just about anything with little apparent effort. Intense research and study on the weapon revealed that the blade was partly existing in both Slipspace _and_ realspace, with the ability to completely phase into either dimension. The sword actually reacted to its wielder's mind and would cut only what its wielder wanted to cut. If it came across any obstacles, the sword would merely phase into Slipspace, bypassing any type of matter or energy and then phase back into realspace when it contacted the actual target. This rendered all types of armor and shielding useless against the blade, making it incredibly deadly. Of course, being a melee weapon, the wielder would have to first find a way to get close to the enemy without getting shot.

Last time Kyle had seen the sword, it was in the possession of the Fleet's research division. The scientists there were hoping to find some way to reverse-engineer the sword's phase technology. Kyle had no idea how Lynn managed to recover the sword, though he was fairly sure that it involved diving into a few people's heads.

"Brings back some old memories, doesn't it?" Lynn said as she strapped the sheath and the sword to her belt.

"Oh yeah. The Covvies weren't too happy to find out we beat them to it." Kyle laughed, "They gave us a hell of a parting gift though."

"Yeah, Laevateinn remembers it too. She's also glad to see that you're okay." Lynn patted the sword.

When she had obtained it, Lynn named the Forerunner weapon "Laevateinn", after a legendary weapon from Norse mythology. Lynn always insisted that the sword had a will of its own, and that it had given itself the name Laevateinn, not Lynn. Of course, whether she was right or not depended wholly on one's point of view, but Kyle usually tried not to think about it. Having a sword that could cleave through anything was scary enough, but one that could think for itself? Frightening.

"Isn't great? It feels just like that time we went off on some wild journey into the stars to find something of unknown power and origin. I really envy you, Kyle."

"You could always just tag along with us, like you are now."

"I'd love to, but..." Lynn sighed, "I can't just abandon the Fleet. It's the only home I have, and I can never leave it until I'm sure I'm ready to."

Before Kyle had the chance to say anything, Hal's voice cut through the air.

"We are preparing to exit Slipspace in approximately two minutes. Please find a seat and secure yourselves."

"So there you are!" Sanah sighed in relief as she walked in, "I've been looking for you two _everywhere_. I've tried asking Hal but he apparently hit some kind of mood swing and kept saying he couldn't do it."

"Yeah, he does get kind of troublesome like that." Kyle laughed and glanced at Lynn. "Let's go see what your crazy little plan has landed us into."

_**Nietzsche  
**_**In orbit around Threshold**

"It's not exactly the most cheerful looking gas giant out here." Kay grunted as the planet Threshold began to fill the viewscreen. "Any idea what we're looking for out here?"

"No." Lynn said flatly.

"Well, that's just great." Kay sighed, "Hal, do a full sensor sweep of the system."

"Will do. While the scan is running, I noticed that there is quite a lot of space debris out there. This is very inconvenient, as the ship wreckage is interrupting my scans."

"I think the point of the scan was to _find stuff like ship wreckage_ you stupid twat." Kay kicked the AI control console.

"There used to be life here." Lynn said blankly as she looked at the dark void, "Thousands and thousands of them, swarming all over this system…"

"Well, if there was, it definitely isn't here now." Kyle pointed at the debris that started to become visible. "From what I can tell, this stuff has been floating here for a pretty long time."

"I've scanned the nearby debris, and it mostly consists of metals and materials that are consistent with both Covenant and Forerunner construction." Hal said.

"That makes no sense." Sanah's head clicked as her data cores kicked in, "The Covenant would have little reason to try and destroy anything of Forerunner origin, due to their fundamental religious beliefs."

"Yeah, well, something happened here." Kyle flipped several switches and began powering up _Nietzsche_'s shields and weapons. "My guess, they touched something they weren't supposed to and got blown to bits by Sentinels."

"I do not believe your assumption is correct." Hal hummed, "Closer analysis of the Covenant wreckage reveals that the damage is not consistent with Forerunner energy weaponry. In fact, most of the damage appears to have been caused by physical force. Scorch marks and structural tears indicate the use of missiles, while shattered and cracked superstructures suggest the use of a magnetic accelerator cannon."

"But there are no human ships here." Kay scanned the debris field.

"Incorrect. You shouldn't rely on your inferior human senses so much. Human eyes are notoriously inefficient."

"Hal, either get to the point or shut up." Kay growled.

"My scans have shown a single capital ship-sized piece of debris that is consistent with pre-Exodus Human construction. Unlike the other debris around it, it is generating a faint, but detectable energy signature."

"I think that's it," Lynn said, her heart beating faster. "Take us there."

"I do have to warn you, the debris field is beginning to get thicker. I'd hate to have a piece of wreckage scrape the side of the ship and ruin such a nice coat of paint…"

"Hal!" Kay violently kicked the AI console again.

"Setting course now." Hal said quickly.

**Three minutes later…**

The derelict ship was an ominous sight as _Nietzsche_ slowly pulled alongside it. Compared to the corvette, the dead craft was _massive_. At least the size of a small battle cruiser. Also apparent was the heavy damage all over the hull. Deep energy scores from plasma, ruptured holes and gouges from secondary explosions, and shattered debris was scattered all across the ship. At the rear, the section where the engines were supposed to be were completely burned out, as if somebody had taken a giant, red hot spoon and just gouged out everything inside. The windows were dark, and there were no signs of life.

"Well, whatever this ship was, it's definitely seen better days." Kay remarked.

"Wait," Kyle narrowed his eyes and pointed at a section of the hull. "Put some light on that spot right there."

_Nietzsche_'s twin spotlights flashed to life like twin suns and began to illuminate the damaged hull, casting deep shadows in all sides and revealing a much darker side of the long dead battle.

"Bodies." Kyle muttered, "Lots of them."

"I count approximately two hundred and sixty three." Sanah said matter-of-factly.

Flash frozen and preserved in the vacuum of space, the shriveled, ghostly corpses of both human and Covenant floated among the wreckage of the debris field. It was the dark side of space combat that nobody ever wanted to talk about. After all, drifting in the lifeless void was a very frightening prospect.

The spotlights began to shift and crawl across the hull until it found something. They were faint and worn from time and combat, but the giant, white painted letters finally divulged the ship's long lost name.

_The Pillar of Autumn_

"_Supported by the wings of Autumn…_" Lynn whispered.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"We have to get on that ship." Lynn got out of her seat. "Whatever we're looking for is in there."

"Hey wait, we don't even know the condition-"

"My preliminary scans show that despite the damage, a large percentage of the ship is still pressurized." Hal chimed. "This is really quite amazing, for a derelict ship to maintain a stable environment for so long."

"You know what that means." Kay said.

"Yeah." Kyle nodded, "There's something alive in there."

**Docking Collar**

While they were waiting for the docking collar to latch onto one of the few intact airlocks, the group began checking on their equipment. Both Kyle and Kay were suited up with EXCALIBUR mk II powered armor, which were the basic suits pretty much everybody had. They were painted in drab gray colors for use in urban and dark environments. Sanah had similar armor, though it was painted in olive drab, the standard color scheme for Fleet Marines.

Lynn, however, was donning the pearl white EXCALIBUR mk III she had taken with her. Unlike the older suits, the mk III sacrificed a bit of armor to add in a small propulsion system and also had a minor energy shield, as well as numerous technical improvements and a larger array of electronic warfare equipment. The small boosters in her back allowed her to move in incredibly quick bursts of speed, and the minor shielding somewhat made up for the reduction in armor.

As was standard in almost all powered armor, they were pressurized and rated to operate in vacuum and zero gravity environments. Though it wouldn't be necessary, it was still a useful function since there was no telling how long the ship would remain pressurized, especially in its current condition.

The docking collar rumbled as it made contact with _Pillar of Autumn_, and there was a silent hiss as the collar pressurized.

Kyle loaded his rail rifle and made sure it was powered. "Let's roll."

If the group thought that the outside was haunting enough, the interior of the _Pillar of Autumn _was just hideous. Since the interior was still pressurized and had atmosphere, the bodies inside had begun to rot and decay. Skeletal figures of both humans and various Covenant littered the halls.

"One hell of a party." Kay said as she nimbly stepped over a long dead Sangheli.

"Okay, this is where we split up, team." Kyle waved to a crossroad. "Kay, you and Sanah will go the bridge. Try to find out what the hell this ship was doing here and what happened. Meanwhile, me and Lynn will go check out-"

"The cryo-bay." Lynn snapped to attention. "We have to go to the cryo-bay."

Kyle nodded. "Alright, let's do this then."

**Armory**

Kyle and Lynn noticed that the weapon racks in the armory were completely stripped bare. Not surprising, seeing the scale of the battle here. From the looks of it, the fighting had been carried into the interior of the armory itself, as evidenced from bullet and plasma damage on the walls.

"There's something not right here." Lynn glanced around the darkened room, her heart pounding. "I can feel it. It's hungry. It wants to feed, to grow…"

"Relax." Kyle rested his hand on Lynn's shoulder to calm her down. "There's nothing in here. Let's keep going."

**Bridge**

"Damn, this isn't good." Kay muttered. She knelt down at the door and began scanning.

"What's the problem?" Sanah asked.

"It looks like the bridge has been compromised. The door is sealed and if we try to open it right now, we'll blow the seal and pretty much every pressurized compartment with it."

"Well what should we do?" Sanah glanced around.

"See that door?" Kay pointed to the hatch they had just entered from. "Seal it, and then hold on to your butt."

Kay waited for the android to close the hatch as well as the beep to confirm it was sealed. She then attached a shaped charge to the door's hinges, backed off, and detonated them. The doors were blown out, and Kay held on as the air in the room rushed out in an attempt to equalize the pressure. Multiple warnings in her suit began to whine and it began to automatically seal itself, activate internal temperature control, and switch breathing to a pre-filled air supply.

"Right." Kay rubbed her hands together. "Let's get to work."

**Debris Field**

Hal gently hummed to himself, keeping track of the sensors and the crew's positions within the _Pillar of Autumn_. It was very common for him to be left in the care of the entire ship while Kyle and Kay were away on missions. That was how things went. To pass the time, Hal usually tried counting the number of planetary bodies in range of his visual sensors.

Suddenly, Hal's sensors pinged, warning him of a ship dropping out of Slipspace. Thinking quickly, Hal disengaged the docking collar, shuttled toward a rather large hunk of debris, powered down the primary systems, and waited.

Like a wraith from the shadows, a small corvette slid into view. The rather ugly, rectangular craft was no match for the newly upgraded _Nietzsche_, but Hal didn't dare try to engage. He calculated a 94.433 percent chance that stray fire from either ship would hit the derelict _Pillar of Autumn_, which was unacceptable. Hal's morality and loyalty algorithms advised him of the danger that it would pose to Kyle and the others. Instead, Hal sent a quick burst of static to everybody's comm systems. If the strangers intercepted it, they would assume it was random interference, but Kyle and Kay would know what was going on.

**Cryo-bay**

"Jeez, what a dump." Kyle scanned the bay. "Most of the pods here are either empty or destroyed. What makes you think we'll find anything n here?"

"Wait." Lynn bent down near a sealed hatch. "In here."

"But that's a launch tube." Kyle said, puzzled. "Whatever pod was there, it got vented into space a looong time ago."

"No, this one is stuck." Lynn pressed her hand against the metal. "Hold on, this is going to be rough."

Lynn breathed slowly, and then flicked her wrist. The hatch suddenly opened up. Since the tube was not pressurized, air began rush into the tube like water in a drain. Fighting the inrush of air, Lynn reached her arm out as if grabbing something, and then pulled with all her might.

Kyle ducked as a cryo pod shot out of the tube like a cannonball. Lynn released her telekinetic hold on the hatch, letting it auto-seal and then concentrated on the pod. She stopped its midair flight and slowly set it down on the ground.

"A little more warning next time."

Lynn cocked her head curiously. "I thought I did."

Their attention then turned to the mysterious cryo tube that Lynn had just pulled into the ship. Kyle moved up next to the tube and examined it.

"It's still powered." Kyle said in amazement. "And I think there's somebody inside it."

"Can we open it?" Lynn asked.

"Here? I don't think so." Kyle scratched his head. "It's better we leave him in there until we can get back to _Nietzsche_."

Suddenly, Lynn cranked her comm system's volume down and said, "Kyle, you'd better-"

Kyle winced as a sudden shriek of static burst into his ears.

"Damn!" He cursed. "This is not good!"

"We're not alone now, are we?"

"Drop your weapons!"

Lynn and Kyle whipped around to see five armored individuals behind them, each aiming a rail rifle straight in their direction. With little choice, Lynn and Kyle tossed their weapons aside. One of the mystery men then strode forward, inspecting the two strangers and the cryo pod..

"Well, what's all this then?" He asked, eyes glinting.


	5. Damming the Flood

Chapter 5: Damming the Flood

_**Pillar of Autumn**_** Cryo Bay**

"Who are you guys?" Kyle asked.

"Hey! We ask the questions here!" One of the strangers snapped. He readied his rail rifle.

"We shouldn't be here." Lynn began to look troubled by something, her eyes darting.

"Shove off, this is our find!" The apparent leader of the party glared at Lynn. "We're not letting a couple of damn kids steal a goldmine like this from us!"

Kyle sighed. These guys were rival scavengers. Through sheer dumb luck or skill, they had also managed to find the wrecked _Pillar of Autumn_, hoping to plunder its secrets. Kyle raised his hands diplomatically and said, "Okay, we're all businessmen here, so why don't we make a deal? You let us leave with this cryo pod, and you can have the rest of the ship to yourselves."

"Who do you think we are?" The scav leader cocked his head. "We've got the guns, so I don't have to listen to a little wanker like you!"

"But-"

"Besides, what's so valuable about this cryo-pod?" The scav leader walked over and looked inside the pod. His eyes widened to the size of small moons when he saw what was inside. "Bloody hell! There's a person in there!"

The scavs looked at each other, surprised. The scav leader laughed, "Well looky here boys! It's not just a wrecked ship or data disc. We've got a living, breathing pre-Exodus _human _on our hands! Think of how much we'll get for a find like this!"

"We have to leave!" Lynn yelled, sheer terror creeping into her voice, "Something is coming and it's coming for us!"

"Shutup!" One of the scavs, fed up with Lynn's apparent rambling, struck Lynn in the side of her head with the butt of his rifle.

"Shit." Kyle breathed and ducked.

Stunned, Lynn temporarily lost control of her abilities. A telekinetic shockwave slammed into everything around her like a tsunami, sending men and empty cryo-pods flying in all directions. Thinking quickly, Kyle snatched his rail rifle and dragged Lynn behind the cryo-pod. He then stood up and fired a burst of rail rounds before ducking back behind the pod. One of the scavs got up to return fire, but was promptly stopped by the leader.

"Don't fire, you stupid twat! You'll hit the pod!" He spat, slapping the man's rifle away.

Kyle sighed in relief. If there was one thing he could count on, it was that he could use these scavs' greed against them.

"Come on Lynn," Kyle muttered, shaking Lynn gently, "wake up, because I'm really going to need your help on this one…"

**Bridge**

Two scavs cautiously made their way into the blasted remnants of the _Pillar of Autumn_'s bridge section. The armored scavengers quickly scanned the area for anything of potential value.

"Damn, the captain was right. Nothing here but burnt up junk." One of the scavengers sighed.

"Can't get lucky every time." The second scav shrugged.

"Oh how right you are."

Both of the scavs whipped around to see Kay behind them, pointing a rail rifle straight at their heads. Kay smiled and said, "You chose a bad day to mess with us."

**Somm Asteroid Cluster**

Keyes sighed as he saw the distant prowler jump into Slipspace and disappear. He desperately hoped that he had made the right decision.

"Sir, the fleet has been deployed to their specified positions." Eurale said.

"Good." Keyes nodded. "What is the status on the N2 mines?"

"The N2 mines are still being deployed. Preliminary estimates suggest that full deployment will be completed in roughly twenty six minutes."

"Good. Make sure things stay on schedule."

Keyes gazed off into the distance again. In response to Lynn's sudden disappearance, Keyes had decided to send Ackerson after her, with orders to return her to the fleet by any means possible. However, Keyes had the ugly feeling Ackerson would "misinterpret" those orders in some way. However, there was nothing he could do about it. Ackerson was really the only man in the entire galaxy who was capable of tracking a rogue star like Lynn. Keyes had given him ample resources to carry out the search. Ackerson had decided to procure a stealth prowler as well as a small contingent of elite Marines in order to track down Lynn and her compatriots.

Keyes dearly hoped that he had done the right thing.

_**Pillar of Autumn**_** Bridge**

"You can try working a bit faster." Kay said as she kept her gun trained on the restrained scavs. "I don't want to be playing guard duty all day, and I haven't been able to get any contact with Kyle or Lynn."

"Be patient." Sanah said as she plugged a data jack into the _Pillar of Autumn_'s aging control consoles. "This shouldn't take long."

Sanah grimaced as she scanned the ship's database. Years of misuse, decay, damage, and exposure had all but destroyed any semblance of structure or meaning in the ship's systems. However, Sanah did manage to find two fragmented files. One was very large, but encrypted. Sanah saved it on her onboard memory banks for future use and turned to the second file. It was a much smaller text file, which looked like some kind of log book kept by one of the ship's former crew. Within microseconds, Sanah opened the file and read through its contents.

_August 23, 2552_

_Things have been pretty hectic lately. We've got almost seventy Spartans aboard, the most I've ever seen in one place. It looks as if they're prepping for a major assault. God help whatever we're going to attacking._

_August 25, 2552_

_I think Cortana might be going rampant, or something like that. When our ship jumped, we ended up in a completely different system. However, it didn't mean it had any shortage of Covvies to greet us. I thought we were going to be dead meat, but the Captain knew what he was doing and closed distance with that huge, ring-shaped space station. The Covvies didn't even fire off a single shot. Once we were safe, the Captain decided that we would invade the station rather than one of the Covvie ships. We defrosted the Spartans and dropped them onto the surface. Of course, the Covvies are starting to send their own troops down, but I don't expect to see any of them come back._

_August 26, 2552_

_We've been doing pretty good so far, given the circumstances. The Captain and Cortana are just proving to be hell for the Covvies. The Captain would just fly the _Pillar of Autumn_ out into the open, blast a nearby Covvie ship with the MAC, and then retreat and use the station as cover. The Covvies are too scared of shooting the station that they won't even dare fire a single shot. Instead, they've been sending boarding party after boarding party. It's been a chore trying to hold them off. We've even had to recall a couple of Spartans to assist us._

_August 27, 2552_

_Man were things wild today! Once we loaded the Spartans back on, the Captain had us speed as far from the station as possible. Before we knew it, the whole damn thing exploded, taking out the whole Covvie fleet. Unfortunately, some of the flying debris struck the _Autumn_, so we're stuck here until we can effect some repairs. To save resources, the Captain had all the Spartans put back into deep freeze._

_August 28, 2552_

_There have been some disturbing rumors floating around the ship lately. There have been stories of weird sounds, things scuttling in the shadows, and all sorts of creepy stuff. I would've just dismissed these stories as just superstition, until people started disappearing. The Captain fears that we may have Covenant saboteurs hiding aboard. He's posted double guards on everything and no crewman is to wander the ship without a Marine escort. Ugh, more work for me…_

_June 1, 2552_

_I have no idea what these things on the ship are. Cortana calls them the Flood. I'm not sure how she knows that, but if it's got a name, there's a chance we can kill it, I guess. Whatever they are, they've taken over half of the ship already. As a precaution, Cortana jettisoned all of our cryo-pods, including the Spartans as well as the lifepods before they could be "contaminated." We've been trying to seal them in to contain them, but the things somehow know our override codes and they're spreading like wildfire. We've even been locked out of the self-destruct option. We should really try and jump back to friendly space for some help, but the Captain refuses to, saying something about containing these things to be the priority. I have the ugly feeling that we're not going to be leaving this ship…_

_Unknown_

_It was a disaster. To keep the ship from going anywhere, the Captain decided to lead an effort to manually overload the core. But the moment we opened the bulkheads, they were everywhere. We did manage to destroy the engines and comm systems, so this ship won't be able to move or send a distress signal. But they got the Captain. My god, they got the Captain, and we couldn't do anything about it._

_We've sealed ourselves in the bridge now. There's not many of us left. We're running low on supplies and ammo, but we don't dare open the door to try and scrounge. We can hear them pounding against the door, groaning, screaming, wanting to get inside. One of the bridge crew couldn't take it anymore and shot herself. I probably would've done the same thing, but I intend to use my last clip for something more productive._

_Unknown_

_There's no way out. The path is shut. There's no way out. There's no way out. There's no way out. There's no way out. There's no way ou-_

_END MESSAGE_

"Kay," Sanah got up. "I think we'd better-"

"Holy shit!" Kay screamed as a small, ugly balloon like creature leapt onto one of the restrained scavs. The man screamed as the creature crawled all over his face.

Thinking quickly, Sanah whipped her rail rifle around and shot the little pest with pinpoint accuracy.

"What the hell is going on here?!?!" The other scav yelled, obviously distressed.

"That's a very good question." Kay motioned for both scavs to get up. "Let's go and get Kyle and Lynn. I have a feeling they're in the same deep shit as we are."

**Cryo-bay**

"They're here!" Lynn shouted as her eyes snapped open. "They've come!"

"What are you talking about?" Kyle said, confused.

Suddenly, the scavs began yelling and their fire resumed, except that it was in the completely opposite direction. Curious, Kyle quickly peered over the cryo-tube and saw the scavs firing at a bunch of shapes in the darkness. This was definitely their chance to escape.

"Let's go!" Kyle grabbed Lynn's hand and got up to run.

"Wait!" Lynn reached out to the cryo-pod. The pod lifted nearly a meter into the air and floated there obediently. "Now we can go!"

Kyle and Lynn made a run for the door with the cryo-pod in tow. They ducked as random rail rounds peppered the room around them, firing at targets that may or may not have been there. They had almost made it to the door when someone, or something, blocked their way. It was a hideous looking creature. It had a humanoid appearance, but was horrendously scarred and bloated by ugly alien growths and mutations covering its body. Without hesitating, Kyle shot the thing in the face and continued going for the door.

"What the hell was that?!" Kyle yelled.

"I don't think I want to know!" Lynn shouted, firing her rifle at another group of the mutated creatures.

Kyle barged his way through several more of the monstrosities, shoving them aside and giving room for Lynn to move the cryo-tube. He whipped around a corner and smashed into another figure. He quickly backed off, rifle raised until he saw Kay doing the exact same thing to him.

"Kay?"

"Kyle?"

"Leave now, reunions later!" Lynn gasped as she hurled another telekinetic assault against the oncoming attackers.

"What are these things?" Kyle gasped as he fired down the hall. "They're coming out of everywhere and nowhere!"

"Something our friends brought along?" Kay nodded to the two prisoners they had dragged along with them.

"Negative." Sanah cut down a wave of alien creatures with typical machine efficiency. "These organisms are wearing uniforms and possess identity tags. As strange as it may be, these thing are in fact this ship's crew."

"_Former _crew." Lynn corrected. "They're not even human anymore."

"Can we get back to the ship?"

"No good." Kay shook her head, "Tried, but the whole route is clogged with the things."

"Well we're in a deep pile of shit, aren't we?" Kyle looked as more of the creatures began appearing from all sides.

"I can't keep this up much longer." Lynn panted, her drooping body betraying her fatigue. "Keeping this tube up and these things back is not going to last forever."

"Shit." Kyle turned to Sanah. "Sanah! Do you still have an uplink with Hal?"

"Of course."

"Well dial him up. I've got few things I need him to do…"

_**Nietzsche**_

The communications console pinged, informing Hal that he was receiving an incoming transmission. The attached encryption meant that it was Kyle making the call.

"How may I help you?"

"Hal, I hope you are somewhere nearby, because I need you to move _Nietzsche _directly parallel to our position on the _Pillar of Autumn_! Once you do that, hold position and open the hangar bay doors!"

Hal ran the incessant background noise through his memory databanks and discovered that the sounds were in fact rampant gunfire and sounds of screaming. Combined with the stress levels in Kyle's voice, Hal determined that there was some urgency to Kyle's request.

"Right away."

The AI never even stopped to ask Kyle of his intentions. Though years of experience, Hal had learned that it was a waste of valuable processing time and power to predict the actions of humans. He obediently carried out Kyle's request, shuttling _Nietzsche_ out of its hiding spot and holding it next to the derelict hulk.

"_Nietzsche_ is ready and waiting."

_**Pillar of Autumn**_

"I hope you know what you're doing." Kay grimaced as she say Kyle slapping C12 explosives onto the wall.

"This is basically the outer hull right here. If we blow through it, we'll have an escape route, and I doubt these little bastards are rated to survive in hard vacuum."

"Assuming we don't get blown up along with them."

"I wouldn't worry." Sanah reloaded her rail rifle and shot down another disfigured crewman. "Those C12 explosives are specifically designed as shaped charges. The blast will be localized."

"Last time Kyle tried to pull off a 'localized' detonation, he killed about five hundred Covenant Imperialists and destroyed some very pretty Covenant vessels." Kay sighed, "You can see why I'm a little worried about this plan."

"Time to find out if I rigged these up right." Kyle closed his eyes and pressed the detonator.

There was a huge _bang_ as the explosives detonated, shearing a perfect circle in the hull. The pressure differential took care of everything else, sucking the weakened portion of the hull into space along with everything else in the ship. The team found themselves flying through the void, their momentum carrying them toward _Nietzsche_'s open hangar bay like birds returning to their nest. Meanwhile, the alien organisms twitched and struggled as the hard vacuum instantly froze and depressurized their bodies.

The moment they hit the inside of the hangar, the massive doors began to slowly close. However, Kyle narrowed his eyes and saw one of the scavs trying to make his way through the opening as well. What should he do? Close the door and leave the man out there, or save him?

"Hal! Stop the doors!"

The hangar doors shuddered to a stop long enough for the man to struggle his way inside. The doors then resumed their task and closed soundlessly. The entire room hissed as the hangar pressurized.

"Thanks for the assist." The straggling scav gasped. "I almost thought they had me there."

Without warning, without hesitation, Lynn walked up the man and shot him through the head. The two scav prisoners screamed in protest and horror. Instinctively, Kyle, Kay, and even Sanah drew their weapons on Lynn.

"What the hell was that for!?" Kyle grabbed Lynn in anger. "He wasn't a threat!"

"That wasn't the man you thought he was." Lynn said grimly. She pushed Kyle aside, bent over the dead body, and began to pry off the dead man's chestplate.

What was hidden under the armor horrified everybody. Under the plate, there was an ugly growth digging into the man's chest. Lynn drew a monomolecular knife and sliced the chest open, filling the hangar with the disgusting smell of pus and rot. Lynn then reached inside the man's chest and pulled out one of the ugly little balloon creatures they had all seen on the _Autumn_.

"That's how they spread." Lynn said grimly. "That's why the crew was still seemingly alive, because these things took over."

Kyle and Kay could only look on in horror. In the background, one of the prisoners vomited.

"Their ship is still attached to the _Autumn_." Lynn pointed to the prisoners. "We can't allow any of the things to escape. We have the destroy both ships."

"Hal-" Kyle raised his head.

"Done." Hal said grimly.

Kyle glanced at one of the external cameras that was feeding the targeting data to Hal. _Nietzsche_'s weapon systems came online. There was a dull buzzing sound as the magnetic accelerator cannon's capacitors charged until the MAC finally fired. A solid titanium A slug struck the docked enemy corvette dead center, shattering the titanium A hull like glass and adding to the debris field around the _Autumn_.

"What about the _Autumn_?" Sanah asked. "It would be illogical to leave it here. There would still be a risk of the organisms onboard spreading."

"We have to destroy that too." Lynn replied, still looking down on the thing she had just killed.

"Well, we have no nuclear weaponry onboard, and destroying a ship of such size and mass would be next to impossible with the conventional weaponry at our disposal." Hal chimed.

"The ship is already in a loose orbit around Threshold." Sanah remarked, "What if we struck it with a MAC strike so that it would plunge the ship into a decaying orbit?"

"Yes…" Hal buzzed as he made the calculations, "If fired at the right time an trajectory, we could knock the _Autumn_ out of its current orbit. It would then burn up or be crushed by Threshold's atmosphere."

"Do it then." Kyle said.

"At once."

"Kay, Sanah, take care of the prisoners. Put them in the brig until we can deal with them."

"Sure thing." Kay prodded the two scavs with her rail rifle and marched them out of the hangar.

"Lynn…" Kyle turned to see Lynn nimbly putting the dead scav's chestplate back on, muttering something under her breath. Possibly last rites.

"He wasn't human, Kyle. Not anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that he was one." Lynn's eyes welled up a little. "I hate how we have to kill each other while the Covenant are gladly doing that as well. It's not right."

"Few things ever are." Kyle glanced at the cryo-tube. "What do we do about that?"

"Might as well find out." Lynn stood up and activated the control console.

PASSCODE REQUIRED

"Well that's not good." Kyle scratched his head. "We could try breaking it open…"

Lynn shook her head and said, "That might kill him. But I have a better idea."

Lynn touched her hand against the tube, closed her eyes, and then slowed her breathing. Kyle shook his head as he looked on. It was one of those vaguely defined abilities Lynn had. It was tough to explain, but Lynn said that sometimes, inanimate objects would be permeated by some kind of "psychic residue", such as the thoughts of a person who possessed are touched that same object. Kyle never really understood the concept, but it certainly a big help in order to track down an item's owner.

Suddenly, Lynn's eyes snapped open and she typed a simple sentence into the control console.

PASSCODE: OPEN THE HUSHED CASKET

There was a slight beeping sound as the cryo-tube tried to process the code.

PASSCODE ACCEPTED

The cryo-tube suddenly hissed, and cold foggy air vented from the tube. Like monster breaking free of its coffin, the tube door slowly opened. Wary of what was inside, Kyle and Lynn both peered at the tube's occupant.

They were amazed at what they saw.

"We might actually be able to pull this off after all." Kyle said, surprised.

"A real Spartan. Who would've thought?" Lynn smiled.


	6. Even a Caveman Can Do It

Chapter 6: Even a Caveman Can Do It

_**Nietzsche **_**Medical Bay**

"So how's the Spartan?" Kyle asked as he walked into the infirmary.

Like most onboard infirmaries, the _Nietzsche_'s medical bay was stark white and incredibly clean in relation to the rest of the ship. Since the ship was only a corvette, there about a half-dozen beds in the room. Quite a lot considering there usually wasn't more than two people on the ship at any one time. One of the beds held the newly discovered Spartan. Kyle and Lynn were not sure what his name was, or much else for that matter. Once he was taken out of the cryo-tube, Hal and Sanah managed to remove his armor. He was then promptly placed in intensive care. Nobody really knew what would happen to a human suspended in a cryo-tube for centuries, much less a Spartan, and this one hadn't seemed to regain consciousness yet. As a precaution, Kay had the Spartan strapped down the bed, just in case he got violent.

"He's really quite amazing." Sanah said, working the medical equipment with lightning speed. "I've run several scans to find any potential injuries or health problems, but what I found is nothing short of extraordinary."

"Really?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Physically and genetically, he may look human." Sanah tapped some keys and brought up a holographic image of the Spartan. "But when you delve deeper, you'll see that he works in ways that are physiologically much different from most other humans."

Sanah tapped more keys and the virtual program began to slowly strip away layers of skin and flesh, revealing what was under the Spartan's skin.

"The first and most obvious things I found were that his bones and muscles are significantly denser than those found on normal humans which directly translates into increased strength and stamina, enhanced nerve pathways significantly improve reaction times, the presence of several performance-enhancing substances, and we've barely scratched the surface here. Basically, he wasn't born this way. He was _modified_."

"So our pre-Exodus ancestors were desperate enough to try and create a soldier that was better, faster, and stronger than any other human alive."

"They obviously had the technology." Sanah shrugged. "I mean, now that you think about it, we're pretty stupid not to have thought about this. For decades we've been trying to figure out how to modify our power armor so we could maximize its abilities. Nobody ever thought of improving the _person_ instead."

"Yeah, it seems like the painfully obvious solution now that you think about it." Kyle glanced down at the Spartan. "So… is he getting up anytime soon?"

"Don't know. And if does, we'd be lucky if he could move at all. He's been frozen for a pretty _long _time."

There was a sudden, almost inaudible grunt. Kyle's honed sense barely caught it and Sanah's enhanced audio sensors picked it up at the same time. Both of them turned and shot a glance at the Spartan, who was beginning to regain consciousness.

"Where am I?" The man rasped. His voice sounded like wet sandpaper, which would be understandable given his current condition.

"You are currently on the starship _Nietzche_. We found you frozen in a cryo-tube and managed to successfully revive you." Sanah said in matter-of-fact manner. She then noticed the Spartan tugging at his bonds and she continued, "I'm sorry for the security measures, but you'll understand that we must take precautions."

"Who are you? What happened to the _Pillar of Autumn?_"

Sanah and Kyle both looked at each other. Neither of them really wanted to say it, but knew one of them had to.

"They're all dead." Kyle said rather bluntly. "For about two hundred years."

Kay yelped in surprise when she saw the infirmary door suddenly burst open. Kyle flew through the door and slammed into the wall on the opposite end of the hall. At the same time, the Spartan leapt through the open door, rail rounds flying around him. He glanced at Kay and quickly sprinted down the hall at incredible speed.

"I thought you said we'd be lucky if he could even move!" Kyle grunted and picked himself up from the floor.

"I guess I might have forgotten to round a decimal point or two." Sanah said, embarrassed.

"You two shut up and get moving! He's getting away!" Kay yelled. She helped Kyle back up to his feet and the trio began to pursue the Spartan.

"Hal! Our guest is on the loose! Scan the ship for him and try to lock him down!" Kay yelled through her comm..

"You shouldn't be so hasty about these things." Hal said, with a completely calm manner. "The subject is heading towards the aft of the ship. Possibly towards the hangar deck."

"Can you stop him?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. The subject is moving fast enough to clear the security doors before I can close them. If you must stop him, it will have to be by physical means."

"Wonderful. We all saw what he did to Kyle." Kay sighed.

"He just… surprised me. That's all." Kyle replied rather defensively.

"Where's Lynn?" Sanah asked.

"I have informed her of the situation." Hal answered. "She currently making her way to the hangar deck as well."

**Hangar Deck**

It took a few minutes to reach the hangar deck, though Kyle, Kay, and Sanah got there just in time. The Spartan was still in the hangar, apparently trying to commandeer a ship and escape.

"Shit, he's gonna try and steal _Puddlejumper_!" Kyle yelled.

_Puddlejumper_ was an old Pelican transport that Kyle had customized and tricked out in his spare time. He often used it when a mission required a ship smaller ship, and in times where he needed to get somewhere a relatively larger corvette just couldn't go. Kyle had put years of his life slowly improving the ship, and it would be devastating blow to him if something were to happen to it.

"You got a bead?" Kay powered up her rail rifle.

"I've had to make several modifications in my targeting software to calculate the best non-lethal shot." Sanah replied. She fired a few short rail rifle bursts, but they all went wide. "Unfortunately, there may still be some bugs in the program."

The Spartan, now alerted to their presence, quickly darted away using random cargo containers as cover.

"Shit, don't lose him!" Kyle yelled.

Suddenly, inexplicably, one of the cargo containers vibrated and hovered in the air. The Spartan, still sprinting for the exit, didn't notice until he found himself covered with an ominous shadow. He paused and looked up, which proved to be a fatal mistake on his part. Like the fist of an angry god, the cargo container came crashing down on top the Spartan.

"Well, that was interesting." Lynn said as she entered the hangar.

"Oh great job, you just killed the guy!" Kay said angrily.

"Don't worry about it." Lynn casually waved off the comment. "He's still alive and well. I can feel him squirming under the thing."

**Infirmary  
Thirty Minutes Later**

"It's John, right?"

"What?" The Spartan, now significantly calmed down, said.

"Your name, it's John." Lynn casually bandaged a cut the Spartan had suffered during the scuffle. She took the opportunity to get a good look at the Spartan. Besides his large physical build and incredibly pale skin, he had rather plain features. There were also numerous scars and signs of old injuries scattered about his body, obviously from accidents, battle, surgery, or all three combined. She tried probing his mind a little, just to see what it was like. She found that everything in his head was… fuzzy. It was like trying to see underwater without goggles. To her, his thoughts were blurred and transient, and she was only able to pull a few bits of information out with any certainty. She looked at the back of his skull and noticed the obvious neural implants built into neck and skull.

_Ah, that explains it_. Lynn thought. _His brain is part machine. The poor thing._

"That right. How did you know?" John cocked his head curiously.

"You sorta strike me as the John type of guy." Lynn shrugged. "Plus I kinda read a bit of your mind before I dropped that cargo container on your head."

John looked at Lynn, a bit confused.

"Oh right! You wouldn't know!" Lynn laughed. "I suppose we'd have to catch you up on a bit of history."

"Provided if he doesn't throw me through another door." Kyle growled, his rail rifle half trained on John. "So, your name's John then?"

"Master Chief SPARTAN-117."

"How about I just call you John? I personally think that it rolls off the tongue a bit easier."

"Okay, now that we have a Spartan, what exactly do we do?" Kay asked. "I mean, this was all Lynn's idea in the first place to find him."

"The objective should be simple. We return to friendly space and regroup with any available UNSC forces."

"You know, we _really_ have to give him that history lesson. I just can't take any more of this." Kay sighed.

"John, my medical scans revealed that you have neural implants that can allow you to interface with class-A level artificial intelligence, is that correct?" Sanah asked.

"That's right." John nodded. "But I need my armor to store the memory."

"Oh yes, your wonderful armor! We'll have to focus on that sometime in the future." Sanah smiled. "But we won't be needing it for the moment. My current form is designed to contain my memory, which only means I need to interface with you."

"Wait…" John narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Trust me, you missed a lot of stuff." Kyle said.

"Correct. The most efficient way to… educate you is to directly interface with my memory systems." Sanah cocked her head. "Don't worry. I promise not to hurt your or anything."

Sanah then pulled out a cable from the back of her neck. She glanced at the port and tested it against the implant in John's neck. It turned out that it was a perfect fit.

"If the old UNSC ever did anything right, it was embracing standardized parts." Kyle grinned. "Thank god for industrialization."

"Please relax." Sanah continued. "You may feel some momentary discomfort."

**PegaTech Primary Memory Core #2**

John glanced around in surprise. He was in a white void of nothingness. He looked at his hands and realized that he was looking at his own MJOLNIR armor, sans his helmet. Now more confused than before, he looked around. Was this all some sort of cryo-induced dream?

"I'm sorry if you're somewhat confused. Don't worry, most people who experience it the first time are."

John turned to see the girl, or whatever she was, materialize in front of him. It looked as if she were completely composed of moving data, quite similar to how Cortana looked. Damn, now that was another thing he was worried about. What had happened to Cortana? Did she go down along with the rest of the _Pillar of Autumn_ crew? John seriously doubted that. Cortana was just too damn smart and resourceful to go down like that.

"Right now, I'm using the data uplink to manipulate your sense. What you see and feel is essentially an illusion, but one necessary to achieve the purpose at hand." Sanah waved her hand, and a large replica of Earth materialized. "Since I assume you know human history up to about the year 2552, when you were frozen, I guess that will start off as a suitable starting point. The year 2552 was the start of a dark period of time we call the Exodus.."

_**EFE Riftseeker  
**_**Prowler-class corvette  
Current Position: Orbit around Threshold**

"They were definitely here, sir." Captain Aheb said. "We've detected traces of _Nietzche_'s ion trail. It's a definite match to their engine signature."

"Excellent. Are they in the system?" Ackerson looked at the broad vista of destruction that had collected in Threshold's orbit.

"I'm not sure, sir. We've run full sensor sweeps, but we haven't picked up anything, though they might be hiding among the wreckage. However, given the dispersion of the ion trails, they were here very recently."

"It looks like our little girl really fancies herself a prophet." Ackerson grinned. How convenient that this worthless gas ball's name was mentioned in Lynn's "prophecy". "Can we trace them?"

"We're trying to calculate their outbound vector. That will take some time, though."

"Get on it, then."

"Yes sir!" Captain Aheb promptly saluted and marched back to the bridge.

Ackerson sighed and sat back in his chair. Tracking this girl and cleaning up her messes was like taking care of a petulant child. It was never fun for all involved. He mulled over the orders Keyes had given him. He was to track down and bring Lynn back to the Fleet under any circumstances. Keyes had made it very clear that he had no wish to lose Lynn either to the Covenant or to another Exile Fleet. As for her companions like that renegade Kyle Carter, well, Keyes was never really specific on that little tidbit…

Smiling to himself, Ackerson took out a bottle of scotch from his desk drawer. Drinking on duty was technically illegal, but one of the perks of rank was the ability to ignore some of the minor rules.

**Pegatech Primary Memory Core #2**

"And that concludes our little history lesson." Sanah announced.

John was silent for a long time. Sanah examined him more closely, noting that there was a large amount of worry and concern on his face. Sanah considered asking him about it, but decided not to. The man had just found out everything he knew was long gone and dead. Couple that with futureshock, and Sanah had a possible shattered psyche to deal with.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

"That's a very good question, because I don't really know either." Sanah sighed. She then suddenly remembered something. "While we're connected, I have something to ask you."

Sanah then waved her arm again. A small box that resembled a purple rubix cube materialized in the air. John looked at it carefully and asked, "What is it?"

"It was an encrypted piece of data I found." Sanah explained, "I was thinking of trying to decode it manually, but I was hoping you might have some idea on how to bypass it."

"I'm not sure." John then touched the cube and backed off in surprise when it began spinning rapidly. "What the-"

Sanah looked on as the cube suddenly tore itself apart, rearranging the blocks until it began to resemble a person. Sanah scanned the new data and realized that the data was programmed to decrypt the moment it detected the presence of John.

"H-h-hello there c-cheeeeef." The humanoid figure stuttered. It looked as if it could barely keep itself together.

"Cortana." John whispered.

"Y-yes and nononononono." Cortana stuttered.

Sanah ran a second check on the program and realized it was plagued with innumerable errors. The realization then dawned upon her. This was a copy of an AI. Well, technically, a copy of a copy.

"The o-o-original Cor-Cortana still existed, even w-when the ship was gone. She copied copied copied herself to keep herself a-alive. I don't have very much time. Errors from the copy copy processes have built up and are corrrrrrrruupptttting my p-programming."

Sanah was almost moved to tears. This AI was so intent on living to carry her message, she reduced herself to an empty shell in the blind hope that her message would be heard. She looked at John and tried to discern what he was feeling. Though he kept a straight face, Sanah could tell he was pained. This Cortana and John had obviously spent a great deal of time together.

"If you're h-hearing this. You've probably awakened f-from your cryo slumber. A-as you've probably seen, the _Pillar of Autumn_ is n-not in flyable condition. N-not sure if t-here are are any ships l-l-left, but Cortana, I mean, I left coordinates for you to use. O-only one workssssssss now. You can only go back to Reach."

A sequence of fuzzy numbers appeared before Cortana. Sanah took the chance to quickly save the coordinates for later use.

"T-theres also one more thing I have t-to tell you. The o-original Cortana left a recording f-f-for you, b-but I'm sensing another presence nearby. You'll h-have to get rid rid rid of it-t-t-t-t."

John glanced at Sanah. She got the point and nodded, shutting down her data probes so she couldn't see what data was being passed. However, she could still "feel" the state of the AI. She felt it slowly diminish until finally, the errors just piled up too much and what was left of Cortana literally just fell apart at the seams. When she reestablished her connection, she saw John standing there, alone.

"John, I'm so sorry."

"Take us out." John said without losing a beat. "We're going to finish the fight."

_**Nietzsche **_**Armory**

"I've taken a look at your armor, and I have to say, it's pretty damn amazing." Kyle said as he helped John put his armor back on. "I mean, it's pretty primitive on the electronics side, seeing how it's about two hundred years old, but everything from the strength settings to the shielding systems basically plows our most advanced stuff into the ground."

"We had a very good scientist." John said. "She knew what she was doing."

"I just wish you would have given me a chance to tweak it a bit. If you were a monster back then, think about what you can do with some modern electronic warefare equipment."

"I'll think about it."

"So we're finally going to see Reach." Kay sighed. "I always heard a lot of stories about the placed. Used to be considered a kind of fortress world."

"It was the most militarized planet in the entire UNSC, second only to Earth." John said. "Two million Marines, a dedicated battlefleet of over fifty assorted ships, and twenty five Super MAC orbital defense platforms."

"I suppose all of that's gone by now."

"Probably."

"Then why are we going there?"

"Because you think she might have left something behind?" Lynn asked John.

John hesitated. "What makes you think that?"

"I can't totally read you mind, but I can read the stuff you're currently thinking about. You think that because Cortana left something for you, that this Halsey did too."

"That's right. Halsey was just as smart and resourceful as Cortana. Plus, she worked in a top secret ONI base on Reach. Chances are, it's still intact. We may all find what we're looking for there."

"Assuming there are no Covenant there." Kay said.

"Oh, there will definitely be Covenant there." Kyle sighed. "Because they're _always_ there. _Especially_ when you've got something important to do."

"True."

"Well, then we'd pretty much have to kill them all, don't we?" Lynn grinned.

"That's what I was trained to do." John picked up a rail rifle and inspected it. "Let's do this."

_**Riftseeker**_

"Sir, we've got a good fix on their location." Captain Aheb reported.

"Good. Pursue with all force." Ackerson smiled.


	7. It's Always the Hard Way

Chapter 7: It's Always the Hard Way

**Somm Asteroid Belt  
**_**Pegasus**_

Keyes looked out at the broad vista of distant stars and barren rock that made up the Somm Asteroid Belt, named after the Exile Fleet that had taken residence there for the past decade. Nobody thought much of it, but the Somm Fleet's work here had provided incalculable contributions to the Exiles in the form of raw minerals to working ships. Unfortunately, Imperial Covenant forces had discovered their presence within the belt and were organizing an attack force. Somm had sent a plea for aid to Keyes and Fleet Earth, since they had a reputation for aiding any Exile Fleet in need, and that they also had a long standing friendship between each other.

"Lieutenant Blackwater, what is the status of Somm's evacuation?" Keyes asked.

"They've evacuated seventy percent of their facilities." Jillian glanced at her data screens. "But they're having some trouble trying to get some of their large machinery out."

"This is what happens when you have a fleet full of scientists." Keyes shook his head. "What's the status on our defenses?"

"Everything is set up and in the green." Euryale chimed.

"What is the ETA for the Covenant fleet?"

"Twenty minutes with a five minute margin of error."

"If there's one thing we can depend on the Covenant for, it's that they're always on schedule." Keyes grinned. Order all ships to make the necessary preparations."

_**Nietzsche**_**  
Currently in Slipspace Transit**

"So, can you tell us anything more about Reach?" Kyle asked John as they sat in the _Nietzsche_'s briefing room. "I don't like going to a world I don't know anything about."

"Reach, environmentally, was a pretty standard world. The climate was stable, the weather was temperate, the air was fresh. It was very much like a second Earth."

"Sounds like a nice place." Lynn smiled.

"Yes." John nodded. "The environment and the planet's strategic location made it a natural site for military expansion. The main focus of our mission is the old CASTLE base located there."

"CASTLE?" Kyle cocked his head curiously.

"I remember hearing that somewhere." Sanah said. "Some vague references to a secret base on Reach, but nothing concrete."

"Well, it definitely exists." John continued. "Along with the coordinates, Cortana also left me with detailed schematics and information about the facility."

"I'm cross-checking the coordinates with our current stuff, but something doesn't seem to be right…" Kay narrowed her eyes and reentered the data into her terminal. "This can't be right."

"Let me try." Sanah bent down and drew a data plug from the back of her neck, plugging it into the terminal. "Running. I've got a match."

Kyle looked at the data screen and blanched. "You've got to be _kidding _me."

"Is this right?" Kay asked.

"With a 99.99989 percent certainty." Sanah confirmed.

"What's the problem?" Lynn cocked her head curiously. "What's this 'Outer Sanctuary' you're thinking about?"

"Only one of the most fortified and heavily protected Covenant Imperium colonies in the sector." Kyle sighed. "Let's just say you can't just fly your ship in and land anywhere you want."

"It is a rather inconvenient problem." Hal said blankly. "Perhaps we should consider our contacts within the Republic."

"I was thinking the same thing too." Kyle nodded. "Take care of the necessary stuff."

"Affirmative."

"I'm surprised you've managed to forge contacts with so many people in the Republic." Lynn leaned back in her seat.

"No you're not." Kyle snorted. "Quit pretending not to know everything I do."

"Aw, but it's less fun that way." Lynn pouted.

"There's still the issue of, you know, actually getting onto the planet?" Sanah interjected, tapping her finger impatiently.

"Well, hopefully, the problem will solve itself once we get there." Kyle go up from his seat. "Now, we've still got a couple of hours before we reach the place. John, if you'd like, me and Kay have a few surprises for you."

**Somm Asteroid Belt**

With a flash, the Fleet of Silent Penitence materialized in space just outside of the Somm Asteroid Belt. Being led by the mighty battlecruiser _Heaven's Fist_, a formidable fleet of over fifty warships charged quickly and confidently towards the belt.

Standing at his position on the bridge, Fleet Master Tazerin made a toothy, carnivorous grin. It would only be a matter of minutes before he and his mighty fleet would purge this backwater asteroid belt clean of the heretic plague.

"Fleet Master, we are approaching the heretic positions." Tazerin's sensor officer announced. "We will approach the asteroid field in three minutes and the heretics in five."

"Continue at full speed." Tazerin said. "Send in our skirmishers ahead."

With that, a small flotilla of twelve ships, consisting of fast frigates, destroyers, and a pair of light cruisers, boosted forward. However, Tazerin's grin disappeared just as quickly as the ships as he saw the entire flotilla disappear in a wall of blazing nuclear fire. Tazerin berated himself for falling for one of the humans' most common tactics.

"Increase the power to our sensors and-"

"Fleet Master! Multiple missile locks have been detected on our flanks!" The sensor officer cried.

"What?!" Tazerin glanced as his ships began taking numerous hits from missiles. The cruisers shrugged off the projectiles, but his smaller pickets took some damage, with a few destroyers breaking up under the assault. "Track the missiles! Where did they come from!?"

"The heretics are on our flanks!"

"Redeploy our pickets and have them form a screen to intercept any more missiles!" Tazerin growled.

"Yes, Fleet Master!"

_**Pegasus**_

"They fell for the trap, sir." Jillian said proudly as Keyes glanced at the data screens.

"All according to plan." Keyes nodded. "Order all ships to move in."

I was a rather daring plan. In addition to the nuclear N2 minefield he had set up near the asteroid field, Keyes had also left hundreds of missiles drifting in space, all ready to be fired from a remote signal. The purpose was to confuse the Covenant and break up their formation, thereby buying more time for the Somm to evacuate.

However, just because this was a delaying action didn't necessarily mean Keyes couldn't bloody the Covenant's nose a bit. He planned to take advantage of this opportunity.

Like angry hornets, over seventy warships from both allied Exile Fleets shot out from their hiding places within the asteroids and began to open up with their signature attack, the MAC volley. Two centuries did little to weaken the power of a several thousand ton projectile being hurled at nearly the speed of light. The assault proved to be punishing, especially since the fact that the Covenant pickets were on the flanks. Keyes wasn't too concerned about taking out the picket ships, since they weren't really much of a threat and they were more often than not used as an extra layer of shields by Covenant commanders. The real threat was from the cruisers, which was why the initial missile volley was designed to draw the pickets away. The first few rounds rebounded off the cruisers' powerful shields like rubber balls. Keyes caught sight of at least one MAC round ricocheting and annihilating a stray Covenant frigate. However, as powerful as a cruiser's shield was, they could only stop one or two direct MAC round hits. The rest of the volley tore into the Covenant fleet, effectively halving their firepower before the fight even started.

"Give me some numbers. What's left for us to kill?"

"I'm only picking up about twenty active contacts." Jillian smiled at their wild success. "I'm estimating about ten frigates, five destroyers, four cruisers, and a carrier."

"All right." Keyes nodded. "Let's take Battlegroup Alpha straight in. Have the other battlegroups stay back in reserve."

"Roger that, sir."

"Eurale!" Keyes tapped his finger on his chair's armrest anxiously. "Give a status report on our weapons."

"Weapons are armed and loaded." Eurale chimed with her usual sweetness. "The MAC cannon had been reloaded, all missile pods are ready to fire, particle cannons are charged, and nuclear warheads one through five have had their safeties unlocked and are ready to fire."

"Good. Engage the Covenant flagship. Order _Lincoln_, _Katrina, Morristown_, and _Monitor_ to engage the other cruisers and carrier. The rest of the battlegroup will take care of their pickets."

"Affirmative, Captain."

"Weapons, target and fire!" Keyes pointed straight at the _Heaven's Fist_ like a laser rangefinder.

The ship comm soon devolved into a flurry of weapon launch confirmations as a torrent of projectiles and energy slammed into the Covenant cruiser. With its shields already weakened by a previous MAC hit, the _Heaven's Fist_ had no hope of repelling the punishing assault. Particle lasers lanced straight through the ship while missiles ripped away armor plating and hull. The MAC round that had popped the cruiser's shield like a bubble was slightly off target and merely grazed the capital ship, taking a sizable chunk out of its bow section.

_Heaven's Fist_ responded with its own volley, but it was a paltry fireworks show compared to the sheer ferocity of the _Pegasus_. Only two of its seven plasma turrets managed to fire, and the _Pegasus_'s undamaged shields easily shrugged off the damage. In return, the _Heaven's Fist_ ate another missile volley before its shields could recharge. The _Heaven's Fist_ now looked as if an incredibly large person had repeatedly stabbed it with an armor piercing pencil. It was so full of holes and pockmarks, Keyes was surprised it was still in one piece. However, before Keyes could give the order to finish it off, _Heaven's Fist _disappeared in a flash of light.

"The Covenant cruiser has just made a Slipspace jump." Eurale announced.

"So he decided to run." Keyes glanced at the rest of the battle. "And decided to leave behind his own fleet."

Without their flagship, the rest of the Covenant fleet was lost and confused in the face of a determined enemy. The battle at that stage turned into a rout and what few ships that weren't utterly destroyed made a run for the relative safety of Slipspace.

"Good job, people!" Keyes said proudly. "We've probably bought Somm another day or two with that excellent show! Return to your previous positions and hold for further orders."

Even though it was technically against regulation, there were cheers among the various captains and crews from the fleet. After months of running and the occasional hit and run, it had been a long time since the Fleet had went up head to head with another Covenant battlefleet. This battle reconfirmed the fact that they could withstand anything the Covenant could throw at them. At least, for the time being. Keyes was still worried about the rumors of a cease fire between the Covenant Imperium and Republic. If they were true, then uniting the Exile Fleets would have to become a bigger priority than ever. Not even Exile Fleet Earth could withstand the full might of the Covenant Imperium by itself.

"Captain." Jillian strode up next to Keyes and leaned down so only he could hear her. "I've just received a private comm from Minister Tuuran. He wishes to speak with you in person."

"I'll get right to it. At ease, Lieutenant." Once Jillian returned to her post, Keyes activated his comm. "Eurale, prepare a shuttle for me and have it ready leave in ten minutes."

_**Heaven's Fist  
**_**Currently in Slipspace Transit**

In a fury, Tazerin slammed his fist down on his control console, literally shattering and crumpling the steel structure. His fellow Jiralhanae looked on nervously as Tazerin vented his rage on the console until it was just a lump of twisted metal and shattered glass.

How could have this happened? Tazerin's once mighty battlefleet had been completely annihilated by a handful of heretics! The entire notion was preposterous! Already, Tazerin could see himself being ridiculed and punished for his failure. However, duty came first. He had to reach a friendly port for repairs and to report that heretic resistance was much greater than anticipated. Seeing that his Slipspace drives were damaged, Tazerin checked his charts for any planets with the facilities that were necessary for the amount of repairs _Heaven's Fist_ required.

"Malechan, send a message to Outer Sanctuary and inform them of our arrival. We need them to clear a space for us in the repair dock."

"At once, Fleet Master!"

"And somebody fix this accursed console!" Tazerin growled. Still simmering with anger and frustration, he stormed out of the bridge. Perhaps some combat training would help put his mind at ease.

_**Nietzsche**_**  
Two Light Years from Reach aka "Outer Sanctuary"**

"Are you sure he's going to come?" Kay asked in a bored tone, staring at the empty stars. "We've been waiting here for hours."

"He'll come." Kyle said in a reassuring voice.

"You know, while we aren't doing anything, there's still the issue of those two prisoners." Sanah said.

"Yes, ever since they have been aboard, I have noticed a .02 percent drop in the efficiency of the life support systems." Hal said. "Shall I vent their cells?"

"No!" Everybody said at once.

"I was only asking."

"They're really no threat anyways." Lynn stretched her arms. "They're actually more scared than angry. I'm sure we can eventually find a use for them."

"Well, if you say so." Kyle shrugged.

"I have a contact on sensors." Hal warned. "Signature matches that of the _Astral Winds_."

"Looks like he's here." Kyle grinned and activated his comm unit. "Halaan, I see that you're late as always."

"I'm not late." A slightly gruff and alien voice replied. "You're just early."

"Yeah yeah, you and your excuses." Kyle laughed. "Let's dock and I'll meet you in five."

_**Astral Wind**_** Conference Room, Five Minutes Later**

"You're absolutely _crazy_." Halaan gasped.

Halaan Ralamee was a Sangheili intelligence officer, which obviously meant that he was a part of the Covenant Republic. While not officially allied, the Republic greatly sympathized with the Exiles and often provided support like supplies, weapons, and hiding places. The underlying belief was that the Exiles were a constant thorn in the Imperium's side, which would do nothing but benefit the Republic. Halaan in particular was a great proponent in helping the Exiles. He and Kyle had rather close ties, as both had helped each other a great deal. However, there were some things that not even Halaan would ever imagine doing.

"It probably is, but that doesn't mean we still can't do it." Kyle smiled. "We need you to find a way to sneak us into Outer Sanctuary."

"You certainly like to burn your favors." Halaan sighed and picked up a data disc.

"Hey, you still owe me for that little firefight back on Larilel Nine."

"I am aware of that." Halaan inserted the disc into a data console and a holographic display of Outer Sanctuary appeared. "As you know, Outer Sanctuary is _heavily_ defended, very much like the human settlement that was there before."

Now, the thought had occurred to Kyle to try and ask the Covenant Republic about the location of Earth, but truth be told, nobody within the Republic really knew either. Shortly after Earth was attacked, none of the Covenant ships that had gone there returned. Shortly thereafter, the Prophets inexplicably instituted an Inquisition that quickly and brutally silenced any and all who had any inkling about the location of the planet. This was one of the primary factors that contributed to the schism between the Imperium and Republic.

"There is a fleet of roughly forty ships stationed at the planet, with roughly another hundred on call from nearby sectors. There are seven orbital defense platforms, a comprehensive sensor net, and countless ground troops standing in your way." Halaan continued.

"So… let's get to the hard part."

"Always concentrated on the objective." Halaan shook his head. "During observation, we've noticed that the planetary sensor net suffers from a huge flaw."

The holographic display zoomed in closer to Outer Sanctuary, and colored circles representing sensor coverage materialized. Halaan pointed to a few of the circles.

"Some of the sensor stations, especially the ones at the poles, are actually working well below their expected efficiency. This leaves a two hundred fifty meter gap in the planetary sensor net."

"That's a pretty tight fit." Kyle frowned.

"Yes, but it's more than enough for a small ship to slip through. Then all it has to do is fly in terrain mode below the sensor ceiling and it can pretty much go anywhere undetected." Halaan grinned. "However, the main issue is penetrating the planet's _orbital_ sensors. Standards on those are much more stringent so you can't quite go through unaided."

"You have that smile on your face. I suppose something has happened that conveniently works in our favor."

"As a matter of fact…" Halaan activated another data screen. "We've intercepted a transmission from a warship called _Heaven's Fist_. Apparently, they got into a nasty scuffle with some Exiles and now they are coming to Outer Sanctuary for emergency repairs."

"And this has to do with us… how?"

"That's your ticket in, of course." Halaan smiled. "With kind of damage _Heaven's Fist_ suffered and your shuttle in stealth mode, you can easily sneak up to it and latch onto the hull. Then, you piggyback on the ship and use its sensor shadow to hide from the orbital sensors. Then you cause a small explosion and use the falling debris to cover your entry. The Imperials will think it is a secondary explosion."

"Pretty complicated plan." Kyle grinned.

"To go with a complicated objective." Halaan shrugged. "As with what you do once you get down there, well, you're on your own."

"Good to know you've got my back." Kyle sighed.

_**Nietzsche**_**  
Outskirts of Outer Sanctuary**

"Jeez, what did we get ourselves into?" Kay lamented as she loaded more weapons into _Puddlejumper_'s hold. "Sneaking into an Imperial-held world? That's suicide."

"Aw, you're just saying that." Kyle said as he inserted the last mod chip into John's armor. "There, finished! You feel any different?"

John flexed his arms a couple of times. "Not much."

"Good, then your performance probably won't be adversely affected." Kyle grinned. "If you thought your armor was mean before, wait till you see this baby in combat! We've upgraded your shields, sensors, and slightly increased your strength and response time. Your armor now also has the capability to use full-scale optic camouflage, limited external propulsion, and a few more tricks."

"How does all this work?"

"You pretty much think it and the armor does the rest."

Suddenly, John disappeared from sight. The only thing to suggest something physical was there was the thin, almost indistinguishable line of distortion in the air. Then, just as quickly, John rematerialized.

"Nifty."

"You're going to need it." Kyle smiled at his handiwork.

"Hey, where the hell did Lynn go?" Kay grunted "It would make moving this crap a whole lot easier. Hell, I wish that android were here."

Kay was prepping the _Puddlejumper_ for the upcoming mission. Of course, the need for a lot of weapons and ammunition was high due to the number of Covenant they would probably be facing. However, weapons alone weren't enough. You also had to have the people to carry and fire them as well.

"She's talking with the prisoners. She's very sure that she can turn them to our side."

"What, is she going to mind-control them or something?"

"She doesn't work like that." Kyle snorted.

"Sure, whatever." Kay shrugged. "Still, wish she'd use those powers of hers to actually freaking help us out with the heavy lifting."

"I'll help." John said, picking up two weapons crates simultaneously with both hands.

"You just picked up a rocket launcher AND a beam rifle." Kay said incredulously.

"So?"

"Do you know how goddamn _heavy_ just one of those weapons can be?"

The Spartan simply tossed the crates into the air and caught them again. "Don't feel a thing."

**Brig**

"So, you want to have a shot at redeeming yourselves?" Lynn smiled sweetly as she looked at the pair of rather dismayed scavs sitting the cell. "We're willing to forgive you for all that stuff you did back there if you help us for this one job."

The two scavs were the prisoners that they had taken earlier on the _Pillar of Autumn_. Kyle and Kay had half a mind to get rid of them. After all, they were a part of the gang that had tried to kill them on the ship. However, Lynn genuinely felt that they were just a pair of misguided kids who could be turned to the right path. The scav on the left was a brunette girl with crimson red eyes. The scav on the right was a bright eyed boy with short, dirty blond hair who definitely looked as if he was regretting some past decisions in his life. He stayed silent, but the girl spoke.

"And what do we get out of helping you?" She asked.

"Well…" Lynn cocked her head curiously. "If my friends had their way, they'd probably just shove you both out of an airlock and that'll be the end of it."

Lynn noticed with hidden amusement that the girl was frowning and her compatriot had paled quite significantly. She then continued.

"Of course, if you help us out, we can both be happy, and alive as well."

"All right, I'm in." The girl shrugged.

"Me too." The boy nodded furiously.

"That's great!" Lynn smiled. "I'll be sure to let my friends know."

"Wait… why are you so quick to trust us?" The girl narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yeah…" Lynn scratched her head. "I might as well get this out in the open. I've pretty much been reading your minds this whole time, so… I know that you guys are telling the truth. Besides, you should've noticed that I've never asked for you names."

"Yeah, well what are they?" The boy asked.

"Melissa Richards and…. Williams." Lynn said confidently. "You prefer to be called Williams because you don't like your first name. Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me."

"Holy shit." Williams' eyes widened in awe and horror. "You can read minds!"

"Oh yeah." Lynn nodded. "Something of a special skill of mine."

"Well, as long as we're being truthful to each other…" Melissa stood up and snapped one of her fingers. A small ball of flame like a firecracker popped out the air above her hand.

"Pyrokinetic, huh?" Lynn grinned. It wasn't often she could meet another meta-human, and even rarer when it wasn't a "trying to kill each other" affair.

"Yeah."

"Well, just promise to behave yourselves and I won't fry you brains." Lynn saw the look on Williams' face and laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only joking. If you actually did try and backstab us, Kyle and Kay would probably have you shot and tossed out of the airlock."

Melissa and Williams both looked at each other. Melissa shrugged and Williams whimpered.

_**Heaven's Fist**_**  
En route to Outer Sanctuary**

It was certainly a sight to behold.

Once one of the proud icons of the Imperial Covenant Armada, the mighty cruiser _Heaven's Fist_ limped back to friendly territory. The entire ship was propelling itself on a single engine and had countless tears and pockmarks in her once pristine armor plating and hull. The damage was so severe, that bits and pieces of the ship were still breaking off, forming a straggled trail of debris. This made the perfect line of approach for a small Pelican transport which bunnyhopped from one piece of wreckage to the next to avoid detection. It really was unnecessary, as most of _Heaven's Fist_'s sensor equipment was either destroyed or offline to conserve power. Either way, it was a simple task to find a hole in the hull large enough to snuggle _Puddlejumper_ into and wait.

After that, it was simply a matter of choosing the right time to disengage from the battered ship. With a bit of luck (and some of Lynn's "mental encouragement" on a nearby sensor station), the Pelican managed to slip through the once-thought impenetrable defenses of Outer Sanctuary.

However, none of its occupants knew what awaited them once they reached their destination.


	8. Lost World

Chapter 8: Lost World

**The Pillars of Sanctity  
Formerly Known As the Menachite Mountains**

By the time _Puddlejumper_ reached the area the CASTLE facility was supposed to be, it was already nighttime. So far, it didn't seem as if the Covenant had caught on to the interlopers' presence yet. Besides the occasional civilian airship, _Puddlejumper_ was alone in the skies.

"I think we can afford to turn off the cloaking systems." Kay glanced out the viewport. "It's dark enough outside and we can lessen the power drain."

"Got it." Kyle flipped a switch and _Puddlejumper_'s optical camouflage disengaged. "Trying to scope out a good LZ."

The Pelican circled around the mountain range for five more minutes before settling down in a small clearing. Dried leaves and twigs snapped and broke under the weight of the ship as it touched down. The engine gave one last whine before flickering out, and the clearing was once again plunged into silent darkness. Then the landing ramp shuddered and dropped down and the ship's occupants quickly exited.

"You know, I've always wondered." Lynn bent down and picked up a fallen leaf. She twisted it around slowly. "If the Covenant went through the trouble of glassing Reach, why did they go through the trouble of terraforming and repopulating it?"

"Same reason why we do I guess." Kay shrugged. "Conquer and expand."

"Quit the chatter." Kyle grunted. "John, can you lead us to the base?"

"This way." John pointed up the mountain and started trudging up. The rest of the party followed suit.

Nobody was taking any chances. Every person in the group was armed for war, loaded with as many weapons as they could carry. In addition to the standard rail rifles, each member carried at least one more specialized weapon. John was carrying an E9 Heavy Directed Energy Weapon, also known as the Red Ring of Death for its signature laser targeting system. Kyle had an M22 rocket launcher, a magazine fed weapon that carried six explosive ass kickings. Kay was hefting a pair of Brute Reapers, the Brute version of submachine guns. In addition to her Forerunner phase blade, Lynn was armed with a PL4 Particle Rifle. Sanah effortlessly carried a M60D Automatic Grenade Launcher. Williams had a HM12 Automatic Weapon and Melissa had a M2A Flamethrower. Basically, they had enough weaponry and equipment to take on a small army.

"You know, I don't even want to know how much all of this costs, and how you managed to get it." Williams said, staring at all of the state of the art weaponry.

"You gotta kill a few people." Kyle said in a somewhat joking manner.

"This is it." John stopped in front of what looked like a solid wall of rock.

"Excellent pathfinding there, John." Kay snorted. "You've pretty much led us to a dead end."

"Jeez Kay." Kyle sighed. "Hasn't it occurred to you that the entrance may have been sealed sometime in the past two hundred years?"

"Point."

"So uh, how much C10 are we going to need for this?" Williams asked.

"I don't know." Kyle glanced into the dark forest behind them. "C10 tends to very _visible_ and very _loud_."

"I don't sense any sentient beings nearby." Lynn commented.

"My onboard sensors don't detect any large lifeforms or energy readings either." Sanah confirmed.

"Still, I'd like to be as discreet as possible."

"I can handle it." Melissa strode forward. "I'm not sure about the visible part, but it sure as hell would be quieter."

"By all means then." Kyle gestured to the wall.

"This should be interesting." Lynn grinned.

Melissa stood before the wall like a hero preparing to slay an evil monster. She stood there for several seconds and breathed calmly before firing a short burst of lame from her flamethrower. The small ball of fire stuck to the rock, but instead of burning out, the flame kept burning bright and strong. Melissa exhaled and the fire suddenly exploded outward, engulfing the rock wall. The rock was literally burning and melting from the white hot flames surrounding it. Then Melissa swept her arm out and the fire was instantaneously snuffed out, leaving a pile of cooled, melted rock and a large, dark tunnel leading into the depths of the mountain.

"Nice." Kay whistled.

Suddenly, Melissa fell on her knee, gasping for breath. Williams bent down to help her up.

"What's wrong?" Kyle said, somewhat worried.

"She's just tired." Williams said. "She's never had to burn something so… big before."

"I'm all right." Melissa panted, wiping some sweat off her brow. "It's nothing."

"Like hell it is." Williams muttered.

"Right, let's go. We're wasting time out here." Kyle armed his rail rifle and marched into the darkened hall.

**CASTLE Base**

The entire thing was incredibly ominous. Because the facility was sealed off from the outside world, it was as if the entire base was untouched by time. The dark hallways led to all kinds of different rooms that served various purposes. The outer areas heavily resembled a large office building. Abandoned desks and cubicles littered the rooms. The empty coffee cups and piles of paper suggested that the people who once worked here left in a hurry. Deeper into the facility, the party came across a security checkpoint. The door was wide open, and the Marine sentries that once stood there were long gone. Not far was a small armor, which was still well stocked with various antique weaponry like M6D pistols, MA5B assault rifles, and shotguns. They passed more offices, utility rooms, bathrooms, and all the other rooms and facilities such a base required.

"We've been wandering around this place forever." Kay growled. "What are we looking for?"

"I suppose data." Kyle said. "All of this is pre-Exodus, so they're sure to have something that can lead us to Earth."

"Unfortunately, we can't access any of this machinery until we get some power in this base." Sanah said. "I'm reading zero energy signatures."

"Hey, our armor and equipment uses plenty of power." Williams said. "Can't we use those?"

"Negative." Sanah shook her head. "This machinery is far too old and our systems are far too advanced. I doubt our batteries and power sources are compatible."

"I think I may have an answer." Lynn reached her arm out and something shot out from one of the darkened offices. Lynn effortlessly caught the object in her hand and waved it around. "Because I've got a map now."

Lynn unfurled the map and let it hover there in the air as she examined it.

"According to this, the facility's power generators are located in the innermost area of the base. If we can get down there and jumpstart those reactors, we can theoretically restore power to the base and get what we need."

"Sounds like a plan." John pointed to the lifts. "That should be the quickest way down."

"You do know that elevators are in the long list of things that require power to use, right?" Williams pointed out.

"Who says we need an elevator to get down?"

"Aw crap."

After a rather harrowing journey down a pitch black elevator shaft, it didn't take long for the group to break through the lift doors at the bottom and continue on. It soon became obvious that they were entering a more secure area now. Security checkpoints were now more frequent and there were more security measures appearing. Lynn had to use her phase sword to cut through several stubborn doors in order to continue. Finally, they reached a door which was somewhat different from the others before it. It was much larger and more secure, with heavy locks and other security measures on it. In front there was a blinking, dimly lit console.

"That's odd…" Lynn glanced at the console. "It's powered."

"I thought you said that you couldn't get any energy readings." Kyle turned to Sanah.

"I can't." Sanah shrugged. "This console here isn't generating much energy, and anything on the other side of that door is being shielded from detection."

"Can we blow or cut through it?" Kay asked.

"I doubt it." John ran a hand across the door. "This is supposed to lead into the most secure area of the facility. It's been specifically designed to keep out unwanted guests."

"Well, no matter how well built the door is, it should have its limits." Kyle said.

"Yes, but that won't help either." John shook his head. "The door was designed to be tougher than the construction around it. We're more likely to cause a cave in on ourselves before we could even make a crack in that door."

"How about we just cut through it with Lynn's sword like the other doors?" Kay asked.

"Negative." Sanah scanned the door. "The door is composed of solid titanium A, and is several feet thick. It's actually thicker than the entire length of the sword."

"Well, we do have option." Lynn pointed to the console. "I mean, it's the obvious choice."

She casually pressed the lit button on the console. A line of text materialized on the aged, flickering screen.

WHO GUARDS THE PRECIOUS THING

"What?" Kyle glanced at the text. "What does that mean?"

"Looks like some kind of verbal challenge." Melissa observed.

"I find myself agreeing with the new fish." Kay nodded.

"Well Lynn, time to do your thing." Kyle said.

Very much like how she unlocked John's cryo-tube, Lynn pressed her palm against the console and closed her eyes, concentrating solely on the console. She probed it for any kind of psychic imprint and detected something faint. She pressed harder, and then suddenly opened her eyes.

Everything around her was now different. Kyle, Sanah, and her other companions were all gone, replaced by office workers and Marines shuffling around in the now clean and gleaming halls of CASTLE. Lynn then turned around and saw a middle-aged looking woman striding down the hall in a lab coat. The fellow scientists and workers she passed eyed her warily and started whispering inaudible comments or slurs to each other. A pair of Marines moved to stop her, but were driven back when she waved her security badge in front of them. Instead, they saluted the woman and let her pass. She then casually stopped at the console, where it issued its challenge.

WHO GUARDS THE PRECIOUS THING

"The King under the Mountain." The scientist said calmly.

"The King under the Mountain." Lynn said quietly to herself, memorizing the scientist's tone.

There was a brief pause, then a crack formed in the center of the security door. The crack slowly widened as the door opened, revealing the contents within. Lynn tried to get a glimpse of what was inside, but the hall immediately reverted back to the dark, abandoned facility of the present.

Without losing a beat, Lynn bent down in front of the console, making sure that the speaker could hear her voice.

"The King under the Mountain." She said, trying her best to mimic the scientist's vocal patterns.

PASSWORD CONFIRMED

The security doors squealed as unused motors and machinery suddenly activated. They opened up to finally reveal the secrets that they were protecting.

"We're in business." Kyle smiled.

Unlike the previous areas, the laboratories were in much more pristine condition, due to how they were designed and to the fact that they benefited from extra layers of security. However, all of the rooms were oddly empty. There was clear evidence that materials were either removed or destroyed, doubtless to keep them from falling into the hands of the invading Covenant. However, it seemed like a wasted gesture since the Covenant apparently had no idea the base existed. Lynn then stopped.

"Wait. There's something behind this door." Lynn pointed to a sealed laboratory door.

"Specifics?" Kyle asked.

"No really." Lynn shrugged.

"Wonderful." Kay sighed. We're going in blind."

Unlike the massive security door before, it was a simple matter to cut through the less secure laboratory door. However, this laboratory seemed just as empty as the rest.

"Greetings, strangers." An unfamiliar, raspy female voice said from the darkness.

Immediately, like bloodhounds on a scent, seven rail rifles whipped around to point toward the source of the voice.

"Wait!" The voice cried. "Don't shoot!"

"Show yourself." Kyle said, rifle still armed.

"Wait…" John put a hand on Kyle's rifle and lowered it. "Let's see what she has to say."

"Alright." Kyle nodded. "Okay, whoever you are, come out with your hands up!"

"I'm afraid that's… impossible. I can't move."

Kyle and Lynn both looked at each other.

"Got my back?" Kyle asked.

"You know it." Lynn smiled.

Kyle, Lynn, and John slowly crept forward in the darkness, their rifle-mounted flashlights illuminating the small cramped laboratory. Lynn's foot then hit against something on the floor. She looked down and shrieked in surprise, prompting John and Kyle to whip around. Laying on the ground was the desiccated corpse of a scientist. Kyle's exploratory prod with his rifle wasn't necessary to confirm the fact that the person was dead.

"That's odd." Kyle said.

"What?" Lynn asked, trying to calm down.

"We've covered a lot of ground in this base, but we've never seen any bodies or anything to suggest the Covenant ever set foot in here."

"That's correct, thanks in part to my efforts."

The trio turned to see a simple computer console in the middle of the room. It seemed to be the only thing that wasn't removed and it was powered, its blank screen illuminating the room. However, unlike most consoles, it was talking.

"An AI?" Lynn asked.

"No, impossible. No AI can last two centuries." Kyle said.

"Well, you're both right and both wrong." The console said. "Hello John, I'm quite surprised to see you again, especially in these trying times."

"Wait, you know him?" Lynn pointed to John. "How?"

"You can say that I raised John and his siblings into the soldiers they are today." The console said simply.

"It's you, isn't it, Dr. Halsey?" John stepped forward.

"So you do remember." The Halsey, or what was left of her, said happily. "We have much to catch up on. I'm curious, how did you survive the past two centuries?"

"Better question is, who are you, how did you survive those two centuries, and why are you in a computer?" Kyle raised his eyebrow.

"Some excellent questions." Halsey concurred. "I am Doctor Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. I was the head scientist of the CASTLE base, as well as the SPARTAN-II program. The reason why I still survive is because I shed my biological body and instead transferred to a digital existence."

Lynn and Kyle both looked at John.

"What makes you think I know?"

"Bright as he is, John is only a soldier at heart." Halsey laughed. "Shortly after the SPARTAN-II program was completed, I moved on to other projects to try and turn the tide of the war in our favor. One of the projects I was working on was the prototype for a quantum computer that could hold the consciousness of a human being."

Again, the explanation only served to create blank looks from the audience.

"The project was originally meant to be a more efficient way to produce more stable AIs by using the consciousnesses of actual people rather than copies of dying brain tissue." Halsey continued. "If you think about it, the human brain is nothing more than an incredibly complex biological computer. The quantum computer we were developing was meant to be an artificial substitute for a human brain, that is, if human brains were the size of Scorpion battle tanks."

"But why are you the only… entity left here?" Lynn asked.

"When the Covenant came, there was much panic… much confusion. CASTLE base was one of the first facilities to be evacuated. I stayed behind to make sure the scrubbing operations were completed."

Kyle nodded. "Scrubbing" was the term used to completely clear an area of any incriminating evidence or sensitive data. Scavs had to be fairly skilled in the field to make sure that certain jobs couldn't be traced back to them.

"Unfortunately, the Covenant offensive moved much faster than we anticipated, and we couldn't finish the deletion process for the base mainframe in time. As a last resort, I had the rest of the staff evacuate and I activated an Omega Alert, which completely sealed off CASTLE from the rest of the world. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was sealed inside this lab. The only way to continue my stewardship over this facility was to download myself into the quantum computer, which was also connected to the base mainframe and systems. However, this also meant I had to put a halt to the deletion process to preserve myself and keep the base hidden from the Covenant indefinitely."

"Sounds like fate is with us." Lynn remarked.

"Excuse me?"

"Dr. Halsey." John finally spoke. "We've come here because we're looking for the coordinates to Earth."

"Oh yes, then that would be very fortuitous then, wouldn't it?" Halsey laughed. "There's a chance that the deletion process didn't reach that particular file."

"Then you can get it for us?"

"I could, but there's a bit of a catch."

"Oh, I don't like this." Kyle said cautiously.

"You see, the base is currently running on minimum power to elude detection from the Covenant. In order to access the mainframe, I have to spool up the reactors to power them. Unfortunately, once I do that, I can't keep the base hidden from the Covenant."

"I freaking knew it!" Kyle sighed. "Every time we get a break, something like this happens!"

"How long will that take?" Lynn asked.

"The reactors have been cold for a very long time." Halsey said. "It would take several hours for the reactors to reach the necessary capacity."

"And how long till the Covenant find out?"

"About five minutes. Covenant sensor technology has advanced over the years while what is left of the shielding technology here has remained stagnant."

"That means they'll be all over the mountain before we know it." John said grimly.

"Correct. I'm downloading the current base blueprints into your HUD right now. You can use it to assist your companions in the hallway set up defensive positions."

John nodded. "Thank you, Doctor Halsey."

John and Kyle turned to leave the room, but Lynn stayed behind.

"Doctor Halsey?"

"Yes?"

"You've been with John… since the beginning, right?"

"You know, I've never seen anybody call John by his first name. He was always referred to by rank or number." Halsey's electronic voice betrayed a bit of amusement. "Let me tell you something. Out of all the Spartans, John may not be the fastest, strongest, or the smartest, but I consider him the best."

"Why, is he that good?"

"Well, he's certainly the luckiest." Halsey laughed. "Whatever trials and obstacles you run into on your journey, you can count on John to help you overcome them."

"Thank you." Lynn smiled. "I can see why John has taken such a liking to you."

"Maybe. Now if you excuse me, I have to start spooling up the reactors."

**Level Six Conference Room**

"Okay, so here's the gist of it." Kyle pointed to the holographic representation of CASTLE base floating over the table. "In order to access the base mainframe, Dr. Halsey has to spool up the reactors. Unfortunately, this will tip the Covvies off to our presence here. Now, Dr. Halsey said that once base functions begin powering up, she can divert power to the base security systems to give us some assistance. However, we've got a choice to make."

Kyle pointed at several points around the base and some colored lines that began snaking through the holographic hallways and rooms.

"We can choose to take positions outside the main laboratories, where we can use the labyrinth of halls and rooms to our advantage and tie up the Covenant. However, this means that we'll be horribly spread out and we can't help each other if one of us runs into trouble. The second option is to hunker down here. The only way in is through those big security doors, and it's much more defensible. However, with no real escape routes, it means we'd have to fight our way out once we get what we need."

"Huh, neither choice sounds wonderful." Melissa commented.

"We should take the second option." John said without hesitation. "With our small numbers, it's better if we stick together. Plus, with one way in, that limits how many troops the Covenant can throw at us at one time, which gives us the advantage."

"I say we go with John." Lynn nodded. "It makes sense."

"Right." Kyle clapped his hands. "Then we'd better get ready. The reactors are already starting to spool up and it won't be long until the Covenant find out that we're here."

**Somm Asteroid Belt  
Shipyard D41**

"Richard!" Keyes smiled as he disembarked the Pelican transport, Blackwater following close behind. "It's been far too long."

"Robert!" Minister Tuuran rushed forward and embraced Keyes in a warm bear hug. "You cannot believe how thankful I am to you!"

Minister Richard Tuuran was the leader of Exile Fleet Somm, and was basically the fleet's counterpart to Admiral Keyes. However, like most of his fleet, Tuuran did not hold military rank nor did he possess any kind of battle experience. Somm was ultimately a large conglomeration of miners and scientists with a small security force and often depended on other fleets for protection. Exile Fleets Earth and Somm had long enjoyed a lucrative relationship, with Fleet Earth providing protection and military assistance while Fleet Somm kept them well supplied with raw materials and the latest tech. This relationship extended to their leaders' personal relationships as well.

"You cannot believe how relieved we were when you agreed to come here at full strength! We've sent word to other fleets we knew, but they were either all unable or unwilling to come to our aid." Tuuran spat. "They just don't know how to keep a commitment."

"Or you just don't know how to choose good friends." Keyes grinned and patted Tuuran on the back. "So what did you call me over for?"

"You see, we have one last piece of inventory to clear out before we can complete evacuations." Tuuran hastily made his way down a hallway, flanked by his bodyguards, and motioned for Keyes to follow. "And it would be a terrible tragedy if such a thing were to fall into the hands of the Covenant, or worse, if we had to scuttle it."

Keyes nodded. If the Somm had a quirk, it was the fact that they found it difficult to destroy their own technology and possessions. After all, they spent so much time and effort building things, that they just couldn't bring themselves to destroy their own creations, even in the face of conquest. Unlike most other fleets, scuttling a ship was considered a great disgrace in Somm, and just the mere mention of it was a taboo.

"Why exactly is this 'piece of inventory', and did you call me over personally for it?" Keyes asked.

"Well." Tuuran stopped at a large window covered by a steel security shutter. He then took a keycard from his pocket and inserted it into a nearby console. "How about I show you?"

Slowly but surely, the window security shutters creaked to life and opened wide, allowing Keyes and Jillian to see what was waiting on the other side.

"Dear god…" Jillian gasped.

"What the hell is that?" Keyes said, staring out the window.

"That." Tuuran grinned, "Is our greatest work of art yet."

**Outer Sanctuary Sensor Station 23**

"Station Master." Sensor Officer Morozin looked up from his console. "Our sensors have detected an anomalous energy reading coming from within Outer Sanctuary."

"Interesting." Station Master Zebedais nodded. "I shall contact the planetary militia and have them deal with it."

Zebedais then pressed several keys on his console and sent the data along to the proper authorities. Whatever this meant, it was no longer Zebedais or his station's problem. After several years of service, he knew better than to ask unnecessary questions.


	9. A Whole Lotta Madness

Chapter 9: A Whole Lotta Madness

**Somm Asteroid Belt  
Shipyard D41**

"You never cease to amaze me." Keyes gaped at the glorious ship sitting in the shipyard.

"Yes, our latest creation." Tuuran smiled.

The ship was a massive, angular warship with bulbous weapons and electronic warfare pods. The entire ship was powered by a massive ion engine hanging from the underside of the ship, and a large aircraft hangar was built into the nose of the ship. What also made the ship stand out was the fact that it was painted pearl white rather than the dull grays and blacks most other ships used.

"It's based on blueprints we managed to obtain for a pre-Exodus warship, the _Halcyon_-class cruiser. While all of the weapons and systems were obviously antiquated, the basic design of the ship was what caught the eye of our engineers." Tuuran said proudly. "The designs had so many structural redundancies and protection that you could cut the ship in half and it would still have enough fight in it left to take on an entire fleet. We just expanded the size and added in modern equipment, and what you get is our newest line of warships, the _Alastor_-class heavy cruiser."

"Why do you need our help to get this ship out?" Keyes was puzzled as he looked over the marvelous craft.

"You see, the cruiser is combat ready. All she needs is a name… and a crew."

Keys smiled. "Are you making on offer, Minister?"

"You can do infinitely more good with that ship than we can." Tuuran gestured to the ship. "Besides, it's your fleet that has the crews and skills necessary to run this ship, and frankly, I don't trust anybody else with it."

"Generous as always." Keyes shook Tuuran's hand. "I'll put together a crew right away. And I've already thought up of a name."

"Oh, really?"

"A ship built for warriors should also be named for warriors." Keyes grinned. "I think the _Valhalla_ would be a perfect name for the first _Alastor_-class cruiser."

"I'll get the painters to work on that right away." Tuuran nodded.

**CASTLE Facility, Reach**

"Finished yet?" Lynn said, keeping an eye on the surrounding dark forest.

"Almost." Kyle growled as he typed in more commands on _Puddlejumper_'s control console. He was programming _Puddlejumper_'s autopilot to take off and stay on station in stealth mode until it received a signal to disengage and automatically land. Of course, without the benefit of an onboard AI, Kyle and Sanah were working together to reprogram it manually. "And we're done!"

Kyle pressed a button and leapt out of _Puddlejumper_ with Sanah before the ramp closed. The engines on the ship slowly shuddered to life, and under its own power and direction, the _Puddlejumper _slowly but surely lifted off from the ground higher and higher until its stealth functions kicked. The ship then disappeared into the night with no evidence of its existence except for the imprints its landing gear left on the soft grass.

"So are you sure its okay?" Lynn asked as she saw _Puddlejumper_ meld into the darkness.

"Oh yeah." Kyle nodded. "It should work totally fine, unless I made a mistake in its guiding system programming. Then instead of landing, _Puddlejumper_ would just automatically nosedive into the ground."

"Charming."

"Wait." Sanah raised her hand in alarm. "Something's coming."

"Yeah." Lynn looked up in the sky. "About eight or so Jackals."

"Armed patrol, no doubt." Kyle armed his rifle. "Probably local militia being directed to inspect the unusual power readings."

"Wouldn't they have sent in a much larger force on a planet like this?" Sanah asked.

"Jeez, for an AI, you're pretty naïve." Kyle snorted. "On a planet like this, local security wouldn't expect or have that much to worry about, because nobody would be crazy and stupid enough to try and even step foot on it."

"I know, who in their right mind would try such a thing?" Lynn grinned. "So what's the plan?"

"Well," Kyle scratched his head, "since our job is to delay them, I say we let them land and poke around a little bit. Then we'll nail them once they start getting suspicious. That way, the maximum amount of time passes while there's not much here to worry about."

"Sounds good." Sanah nodded. "I've got a fix on where they're landing."

"Way ahead of you." Lynn pointed into the forest. "About a kilometer in that direction."

**Forest of Tranquility**

Kazzac sighed as he gazed over the dark forests of the Pillars of Sanctity. Here he thought he could finally sign off his shift and return to his home for the night. Unfortunately, he and his squad received orders from the local troop commander to inspect suspicious activity in the mountains. Kazzac's shift would have ended in just ten minutes, but apparently Troop Commander Dominus and the Prophets had a different fate for him. What made this infinitely worse was that the Pillars of Sanctity and the Forest of Tranquility were one of the most remote and least populate regions on the planet. If one were to run into trouble, help would be difficult to contact and in the case of an emergency, would take very long to mobilize.

Because they weren't cleared to use heavy force, Kazzac could only bring a small squad and an air skimmer with him to inspect the suspicious activity. Like always, he was not told what to look for or to expect, only to fly to and look around a certain area. Kazzac suspected it was local farmers spooked by some large animal or something along those lines. There were many rumors of Demons that survived the Cleansing and were roaming the mountains and forests, preying on wildlife and Covenant alike. While Kazzac dismissed such stories as mere superstition, there were far too many on the planet who took them seriously, half of Kazzac's squad included.

"Is it true that somebody saw a Demon down there?" Mreep said nervously. "My ancestors have told me the fearsome power of those creatures, and that they have seen them kill many soldiers of the Covenant."

"I told you to stop believing in that Heretic propaganda." Kazzac spat. "Demons do not exist. It's only a ploy by the Heretics to sow fear in our hearts, and thanks to you, they're succeeding."

"I was just asking a question…" Mreep said, slightly cowed.

"Well, it was a stupid one." Kazzac snapped. "Now great ready. We are about to land."

Once the skimmer touched down at the designated landing spot, Kazzac and his seven companions immediately disembarked. The leaves and twigs on the round cracked under his feet as he hit the ground. Kazzac then activated his energy shield. Not only did it provide extra protection, but also a source of light in the darkness. His companions quickly followed suit.

"Let's go." Kazzac waved his squad forward.

The entire mission had a very eerie quality to it. Even though Kazzac's vision and hearing were sharp enough to pierce the veil of darkness, he felt as if there was some sort of weight or cloud that was interfering his senses. As he looked to his squadmates, he noticed their discomfort and realized they were suffering the same problems as well. Kazzac shook his head and pressed forward. It was at this point he reached a clearing. Glad to be out in the open air, Kazzac almost missed the large hole in the face of the mountain on the other end of the clearing. He quickly sprinted forward and inspected the hole, realizing that it and whatever was inside was not made by nature or the Covenant. Maybe it wasn't a false alarm after all.

"Mreep, send a call to the troop commander." Kazzac said, poking his head into the hole. "Mreep?"

Kazzac turned his head to see Mreep and the rest of the squad on the ground, dead. Kazzac panicked and ran into the hole in the vain hope that it would afford him some protection. He then ran into a figure clad in crimson armor. Kazzac slid to a halt and instinctually raised his shield for protection. However, the figure did not draw a weapon. Kazzac didn't have time to wonder, as he suddenly felt an extreme burning sensation in his body. He looked down and realized that his entire body was on fire.

"Kyle, this is Melissa." Melissa toed the fried Jackal at her feet. "Tango down."

"Good. Stay there until further notice." Kyle turned to Lynn. "Well, that was a big success."

"Yup." Lynn smiled. She had used her telepathy to suppress the Jackals' senses, making easier to sneak up on them and cut them pieces with Laevateinn. The fact that their energy shields glowed like miniature suns in the darkness didn't really win any points for the Jackals either. "Pretty easy."

It took quite a while for the Covenant response to ramp up. At first, the local troop commanders just assumed that their squads sent to inspect suspicious activity just got lost and sent in another squad to find them, where they would just be promptly eliminated by Lynn and Kyle. However, as the power readings got more powerful and as more squads stopped sending messages, the Covenant higher ups soon started getting worried and upgraded their response.

About two hours in, Lynn, Kyle, and Sanah looked up at an ominous shape in the sky and realized that this was no air skimmer. It was a full sized assault dropship, which could hold several squads of Jackals and Brutes.

"Take it down?" Lynn asked.

"Lets." Kyle nodded.

Lynn set her rail rifle aside and instead drew the PL4 Particle Rifle she was carrying. The weapon was basically the successor to armor piercing rifle ammunition. Even with modern magnetic accelerator technology, scientists found that even magnets and chemical explosives had their limitations in terms of armor piercing capability. In order to make up for this problem, the Particle Rifle was created. It basically fired an intense, focused beam of energy that could literally burn through any solid object. The only problem with the rifles, even with the most modern versions, was that it was a very precise weapon and that it overheated easily. However, in the hands of a skilled shooter, nothing was safe. Using her mental skills to guide her aim, Lynn set her sights over the dropship cockpit and fired. The small shaft of light punched through shielding and armor plate and flesh. With no intelligence at the controls, the dropship wavered and plowed straight into the ground. Kyle then armed his rocket launcher and pumped all six rockets into the downed dropship. The hapless ship exploded in a ball of fire, sending shrapnel and debris flying everywhere, causing several small forest fires.

"Well, if THAT didn't catch their attention, I don't know what will." Kyle sniffed as he batted some burning embers away.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll come, and in larger numbers." Lynn packed her particle rifle.

"I think we'd better go back inside." Sanah said, looking at t he sky ominously.

**CASTLE Base**

"Well, repelled the first couple of waves of them." Lynn said as she sealed the inner security doors. "But now they're going to come in force."

"Well, they can't be as hard as the first guys, right?" Williams asked.

"The first few waves were just _planetary militia_." Kyle sighed. "Now that they know something big is going on down here, they're going to start sending in the big guns, like Brutes and actual trained Covenant military."

"Oh." Williams blanched.

"My sensors have detected Covenant troops moving within the halls." Halsey said. "They've fanned out in a standard search pattern. They don't seem to quite know where to go yet. Also, power levels are rising to fifty percent capacity, which means I can bring base defense systems online."

"Good, let's give them a nasty surprise." Lynn smiled.

**Forest of Tranquility**

Moronin growled as his scouts found the remains of yet another squad. Whatever was down here certainly knew what it was doing and how to efficiently kill steadfast troops of the Imperium. Already, the Field and Fleet Masters had caught on to what was going on down here and decided to send military units in force. Already, six dropships full of troops had touched down, with another ten incoming with reinforcements. Something was being hidden on the very soil of Outer Sanctuary, and the Imperial leadership wanted it cleansed before anybody knew of the impurity.

"It seems to be a heretic base, left over from the Cleansing." One of Mornin's scouts reported. "The facility is very old, and there are no signs of life."

"Well, _something_ killed these soldiers." Moronin growled. "Keep searching."

Suddenly, a harsh, electronic voice in an alien language blared out, startling Moronin and the soldiers around him.

"WARNING! YOU ARE ENTERING A RESTRICTED GOVERNMENT ZONE! TURN AROUND AND LEAVE THIS AREA IMMEDIETALY OR YOU WILL BE SHOT!"

Moronin glanced at his officers curiously, not understanding the odd language the ancient loudspeakers were yelling. However, the chatter of gunfire was definitely enough to rouse his attention. Though ancient, most of the base's automatic defense turrets were still operational. Bullets whizzed by, sending Covenant troops scurrying for cover. Moronin growled as a burst of fire bounced off of his shields. Finally, Moronin's troops regained their senses and began returning fire, destroying the turrets as they materialized.

**CASTLE Base**

"I'm eventually going to run out of turrets to distract them with." Halsey said wryly as the distant sounds of combat reverberated through the walls. "It's not going be long until they reach the inner security doors."

"Yeah, since they're already here." Lynn nodded to the door. "They don't have anything that can break through it… yet."

"Okay, let's pile some stuff up here and make a barricade." Kyle said. "They're going to come in and come in _hard._"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Moronin was just reaching the door. He and his troop had fought through a gauntlet of automatic security measures to reach this point. Something was on the other side of this door, something important.

"Bring the plasma cutters!" Moronin yelled. "I want that door opened _now_!"

_**EFE Valhalla **_**Bridge**

"She's a beauty." Jillian smiled as she slid her hand across a brand new control console. "What are the specs on this thing?"

"Oh, there are all sorts of neat things this ship can do." Tuuran beamed. "The ship has three MAC cannons, eight particle beams, fifty railguns, and two hundred missile bays. It also has the latest shielding systems and has a Slipspace drive that can match the speed of any Covenant vessel. We spared no expense in its construction."

"I can see that." Keyes grinned. "I can see the quality oozing out of the hull."

"Sir." Keyes' radio buzzed. "The crews are in position and ready for the order."

"Then take her away."

With the order, the docking collars connecting the ship to the station disengaged. _Valhalla_'s engines then flickered to life for the first time and the pearl white ship pulled itself free of the asteroid belt. The other ships, seemingly cowed by the _Valhalla_'s dominating presence, cleared a path for the mighty cruiser.

"So, what do we do now?" Tuuran turned to Keyes. "With our precious asteroid belt compromised, Somm doesn't have anywhere to go at the moment."

"It looks like you'll be tagging along with us then." Keyes stared out of the viewport. "Though god knows, we probably need some company. It's been a _long_ time since we've run into any other fleets."

"You got that right. They're just drifting farther apart these days. Most of them are too paranoid to stay in contact. They think that the other fleets are all Covenant shams or something." Tuuran sighed.

"Well." Keyes glanced at his watch and his thoughts suddenly turned to Lynn and Ackerson. Apart from Ackerson's regular progress report saying that he was on her tail, there was no word from either person, which worried him greatly. "The Covenant Imperium has recently become a bit more aggressive in trying to hunt down Exiles in this sector. I think it's time we showed them why they should tread carefully in our little corner of the galaxy."

**CASTLE Base**

It took two painstakingly long hours, but the plasma cutter finally managed to slice through the locks that sealed the door shut. A pair of Kig-Yar then jammed a pair of powered jacks in between the doors and they slowly began to force the door open. The door was barely open a crack when rail rifle rounds shot through and blew the unfortunate pair of Kig-Yar to pieces. Moronin didn't even wince as Kig-Yar gore spattered onto his shields. He muttered a silent curse to the heretic Exiles and turned around.

"Move forward! Open that door!"

A quartet of Jiralhanae moved forward, grabbed the edges of the door and pulled the door open with sheer brute force. They shrugged off the rail rifle rounds for the first few seconds until their shields failed and they were torn to pieces by the hypersonic projectiles. However, they served their ultimate purpose and forced the doors wide open enough to let troops through. However, this also exposed them to fire from the defenders within. Moronin waved and pressed his troops forward.

Meanwhile, Lynn, Kyle, and the rest of the Exiles were busy unloading their rail rifle clips into the hallway. Once the rail rifle clips were expended, they stopped firing for several seconds, luring the Covenant out cover. They then swapped to their secondary weapons and unloaded their combined firepower. One Brute looked down at his chest curiously to see a small, rapidly flickering red ring before a huge beam of crimson energy blasted through his chest and three entire ranks of Jackals. John set the Red Ring of Death aside to cool and began firing his rail rifle again. Meanwhile, Kay and Williams used their automatic weapons to pour an unending torrent of fire down the hall, sending Brutes and Jackals running for cover. A squad of Jackals tried to press forward in a phalanx formation using their shields for protection, but were quickly driven back by a wall of fire set down by Melissa's flamethrower.

So far so good, things were holding well. The Covenant, penned in by the narrow hallway, couldn't advance. All they could do was return fire in the vain hope that they could hit something. However, Lynn got the ugly feeling that something was wrong.

"Sanah!" Lynn patted Sanah's shoulder. "With me!"

"What?" Sanah said curiously.

"Where are you going?" Kyle yelled.

"Just hold the fort till we get back!" Lynn took off down the hall with Sanah following close behind.

"Shit." Kyle growled and sprayed more rail rounds down the hallway.

Lynn sprinted down the hallway until she reached the lab Halsey's consciousness was stored in. She got there just in time to catch a Covenant infiltrator squad. They had thought ahead and used a plasma cutter to drill straight through the mountain, ending up in Halsey's lab, of all places. Lynn realized that Halsey was in danger. Fearing that she might hit Halsey, Lynn lowered her rail rifle and drew Laevateinn. Before the Brutes even realized what was going on, she was already across the room, swinging her sword in a wide arc. The blade phased through Halsey's console and the Brutes' shields, rematerializing straight into their flesh and cleaving two Brutes in half. Sanah, with her infallible targeting software, fired several short bursts that downed two more Brutes with clean headshots. Another Brute roared in anger and fired four Brute shots at Lynn. She sensed his intentions long before he even thought about pulling the trigger on his weapon. The Brute looked on in surprise as the grenades stopped in the air and zoomed back into his face before blowing his upper body all over the wall. Another Brute charged out of the hole swinging a plasma sword. Lynn easily parried the blow and decapitated the Brute, but flinched as Brute spikes struck her. Her armor's shields managed to deflect some of the projectiles, but quite a number dug into the armor plating. Sanah quickly stepped between Lynn and the Brute spikers, absorbing the brunt of the attack with her artificial body. Angry at letting herself be so careless, Lynn focused all of her power on the Brutes coming in from the hole, creating a telekinetic wave so powerful that it literally liquefied their organs as they were struck by the wave.

Out of breath, Lynn collapsed on to her knee to catch her breath, and realized in horror that she had missed one of the Brutes. It had noticed the activity coming from Halsey's terminal and was raising its massive Brute shot to demolish it.

"NO!" Lynn tried to vain to get up and stop the Brute, but she was too exhausted to do anything but watch.

The Brute brought it's weapon straight down on top of the defenseless console housing Halsey's consciousness, the only hope left for Lynn and Humanity as a whole.


	10. Infinite Mischief

Chapter 10: Infinite Mischief

**CASTLE Base**

Lynn watched helplessly as the Brute smashed his weapon down straight on the console, the massive cleaver gouging a huge rent in the machinery. There were a few sparks and small explosions as the screen shattered and the metal casing was split open.

"No…." Lynn felt the fight drain out of her body. The Brute then turned its attention to her and aimed its weapon at her.

However, a high velocity grenade sailed through the air and impacted against its face, blowing the Brute's head and upper torso to pieces. The remaining Brutes met similar fates at the hands of Sanah's M60D.

"I suggest you gather your companions here." Sanah said as she glanced up the newly made tunnel. "It appears that our Covenant friends have provided us an alternate escape route."

Lynn looked at Sanah, and noticed something… different about her. She was the same in the fact that her physical features and body were intact, but there were tiny, minute inconsistencies that anybody who spent enough time with an android, or even people in general, could spot. She noticed the expression on her artificial face were now tighter and more pinched, making her appear significantly older. Her normally bright, vivid eyes were also noticeably darker and unfocused, like from a person who had seen far too much in her life.

"Sanah?"

Sanah's face suddenly brightened to its usual appearance, though the android looked mysteriously distressed about something.

"I'm sorry, Lynn." Sanah said apologetically. "I couldn't think of anything else to do."

"What are yout talking about?" Lynn said curiously.

Suddenly, Sanah's expression changed again and she looked at her right arm and flexed it, gazing on it with the fascination of a scientist. "Amazing. The precision and effort that went into designing these robotic systems must have been tremendous."

Lynn then realized what must have happened and took a step forward. "Dr. Halsey?"

"My, you do catch on fast." Sanah/Dr. Halsey smiled. "I managed to wirelessly transmit myself into your android's backup memory banks. Granted, she did have to delete quite a bit of data in order to accommodate me, but it's actually quite spacious in here."

"Can you please not try to stay active while you're in me?" Sanah lamented. "The extra resources you're drawing are lowering my combat efficiency."

"I'm sorry, I'll stay quiet then." Halsey said.

"Wait!" Lynn's hopes were already starting to rise. "Did you-?"

"No." Halsey shook her head. "I'm afraid that data is no longer in the mainframe. _However_, I did manage to salvage some information that can help us greatly."

"Get out. _Please_." Sanah whimpered.

"As you wish." Halsey nodded. Her expression finally reverted back to Sanah's old expression.

"What was… a little weird." Lynn said.

"You cannot even begin to imagine." Sanah sighed. "So I guess we get out of here?"

"No point in staying." Lynn agreed and then made her way to the door. "I'll get the others and-"

Before she even reached the hall, the lighting shut down and red emergency lights illuminated the hall. Klaxons wailed and a scratchy, automated voice croaked a prerecorded message.

"WARNING! SELF DESTRUCT ACTIVATED. ALL REMAINING STAFF PLEASE PROCEED TO YOUR DESIGNATED EVACUATION POSTS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention, once the mainframe is wiped clean the deletion program automatically forces the reactors to meltdown to make sure the base is thoroughly destroyed." Halsey chimed.

"_What is wrong with you people!?_" Lynn wailed and bolted down the hall. "Sanah! Watch that tunnel! I'll get the others!"

Meanwhile, at the security door, things were not going so well. The Brutes had finally pushed through the door itself. The ground and walls were peppered with so many spikes from the Brute weapons, that there was literally almost nowhere to safely stand without the danger of getting impaled on one.

John stood up and fired the Red Ring of Death one more time. The shaft of crimson energy speared down the hall and through a couple of ranks of Covenant troops. The weapon then whined and the lights died, signifying that the weapon's charge was depleted. John tossed the weapon aside and grabbed Kyle's rocket launcher.

"Mind if I borrow this?"

"Go for it!" Kyle fired a rail rifle burst. "It's the last mag, so make those shots count!"

John didn't even bother aiming the weapon in the narrow hall. He fired off all six rockets, sending explosions rippling through the hallway, sending pieces of Covenant troops flying in all directions. The blasts were so powerful, that part of the hallway collapsed and caved in, impeding the oncoming Covenant even more.

"How are things going?" Lynn said as she slid next to Kyle and added her rail rifle to the hail of fire.

"Not good! We're running low on ammo and they just won't stop!" Kyle pointed.

"Well, we've got an alternate route out of here!" Lynn yelled. "Get back to the lab and Sanah will show you the way. Go!"

With that, the defenders began peeling off one by one to make sure that at least one person was always putting down fire on the hallway. The tricky part of this would be whether the last person would be able to get away safely or not.

"Melissa!" Kyle yelled. "Put up a wall of fire and keep them back!"

Melissa nodded and sent a stream of flame from her flamethrower and torched the entire doorway. That and a little coaxing from her powers created a wall of flame that proved too hot for even the mighty Brutes to cross.

"Go go go!" Kyle patted Melissa on the back to get her to move. He then took one last look at the door and ran after her. By the time he reached the lab, the only person left was Lynn, who was still standing at the mouth of the tunnel.

"You didn't have to stay, you know." Kyle said as he clambered into the tunnel.

"Then who'd watch your back when you get into trouble?" Lynn smiled.

**Pillars of Sanctity**

The drilling team really had no idea what was going on when everything around them began to explode and when they began to die. The Jackals and Brute standing guard were instantly torn apart from telekinetically guided grenades. The team of Engineers maintaining the drilling equipment was more concerned with saving the machinery and most were killed attempting to protect or repair it. Even as their fellows lay dead or dying around them, the few surviving Engineers tried to do what they could to save the damaged equipment. They were so engrossed in their task, they completely ignored the small band of humans climbing out of the hole they had made in the ground. They also never gave the sudden appearance of a Pelican dropship a second thought, even as it touched down and then took off with a blast of fire. Nor did they pay much attention when the ground began to shake beneath their feet, and the rocks around them began to crumble. Temperatures began to rise all around, but that only served to make them worry that the extra heat would melt some sensitive components.

Meanwhile, the Brutes inside the base finally managed to break through the wall of fire and stormed the laboratories, trying to find the band of heretics that had cost them so dearly. However, they found nothing except for a strange blinking display. Unfortunately for the Covenant, they were not schooled in English or the Arabic number system. If they did, they would probably be able to see that the display was saying:

TIME UNTIL DETONATION: 00:00:04:01

Roughly four seconds later, the fusion reactors powering CASTLE Base overloaded and melted down. Two seconds after that, the reactors exploded, the shockwave pulverizing whatever wasn't roasted by the nuclear heat and fire. The entire Menachite Mountain Range was raised by several inches before the pressure from the blast subsided. Without anything to hold it up, the entire mountain range collapsed into itself, crushing whatever may have still been alive. Those that could see the spectacle took it as a sign of the apocalypse, while crews in sensor stations from both the ground and in orbit were dumbfounded as to what was interfering with their equipment in that area. The mass confusion and panic was so intense, that even the Republican listening ship on the edge of the system couldn't tell what was happening.

In all the confusion, nobody noticed a single Pelican dropship making a speedy escape from the planet's gravity well before jumping into Slipspace.

_**Puddlejumper**_

The interior of the ship was relatively quiet as everybody sat in their seats and waited until their Slipspace hop would take them to the rendezvous point with _Nietzsche_. None of them were wounded, but many of them had some new nicks and scratches in their armor from stray spiker and plasma rounds that were flying around.

"Well that mission was a total bust." Kay said, finally breaking the silence. "We went through all that trouble for nothing except drop a mountain on top of a bunch of Brutes."

"Not necessarily." Lynn shook her head. "Halsey mentioned that she had something else that could help us. Once we get back to _Nietzsche_, we can, uh, _transfer_ her to the ship computer core."

"Oh yeah, Hal is just going to _love_ that." Kay snorted.

"As a guy in a similar position, I can sympathize with Hal on this one." Kyle said from the cockpit.

"Shut up." Kay retorted.

"Okay, we're here." Kyle threw a lever and _Puddlejumper_ dropped out of Slipspace just a few kilometers from _Nietzsche_. "Huh, Hal left the bay doors open for us. That's uncommonly thoughtful of him."

Kyle nursed the Pelican into the landing bay. No sooner had the landing gear touched down on the deck when the bay doors began to close shut.

"Right." Kyle got out of the pilot's seat. "Let's go show Halsey her new home."

Unfortunately, before Lynn and Kyle even stepped foot of the Pelican, they found themselves facing over a dozen rail rifles being held by a squad of very mean looking Marines.

"Drop your weapons!" The lead Marine yelled, rail rifle at the ready.

Lynn and Kyle looked at each other, as if trying to tell each other what to do. Kyle glanced over and saw Lynn shake her head. He sighed and dropped his rail rifle and pistol. Lynn likewise followed suit. The Marine squad leader then nodded and half of his squad shot past Lynn and Kyle and entered the Pelican, yelling similar orders to drop weapons.

"You've been a very bad girl, Miss Wellings." A very familiar voice rang out through the landing bay. Ackerson strode out from behind a wall of cargo containers and stopped in front of Kyle and Lynn. "It looks like you still need a bit of discipline whipped into you."

Lynn didn't react, but it didn't take a psychic to detect the anger seething from her.

"Nuh uh uh." Ackerson wiggled his finger. "I've been given rather _clear_ orders to take you back to the fleet. However, what _isn't_ clear is what I could do in order to… convince you to follow."

Ackerson motioned to the squad of Marines surrounding _Puddlejumper_. "Now, I know for a fact that you could easily dodge any of the shots me and my men fire at you, but what about your little boyfriend here, or your friends in the ship? Not even you are fast enough to stop multiple rail rifles on full auto, and I doubt you could stop _all_ of the missiles aimed at your little ship."

Lynn growled, but still said nothing.

"Now now, pouting won't get you anywhere." Ackerson sighed. "You can choose to stop your foolish little treasure hunt and come back with us peacefully, sparing your friends in the process. Or, you could say no and then we'd have to get into a nasty firefight that would end up getting everybody killed. It's a rather simple choice, so you'd better be quick about it before I lose my patience."

_**Valhalla**_  
**Currently in Slipspace transit**

Keyes sighed as he stared at the communication console, waiting for that one classified frequency to light up and chime. Ackerson had not yet contacted him, and Keyes was starting to become a bit nervous. Keyes immediately ruled out an ambush by Covenant Imperials. Ackerson was too good and smart for that. Keyes couldn't rule out that Lynn was giving the man a hard time. He wouldn't put it past her, since she was a pretty resourceful girl and she had gotten good at eluding Keyes' and Ackerson's attempts to rein her in.

"Sir." Jillian appeared at Keyes' side, holding a datapad. "I need you to review the attack plans. The Somm have looked at, but they won't sign off on it until you give it the go ahead."

Keyes nodded and took the datapad from Jillian. The battle plan had been penned by the Fleet Tactical Division. Though they were good at their jobs, the fleet tacticians often deferred their decisions to Keyes and gave him free rein to alter their plans as much as he liked. He looked it over and saw that the overall strategy was sound.

The target was supposed to be a remote Covenant shipyard and supply station. While he didn't know the name of the station, Keyes knew that it was the staging point for most of the Imperial Covenant forces in this area. From Republican contacts, Keyes and the fleet were aware that the garrison at the station had recently become much more aggressive, sending more ships out on deep space patrols. This was partly the reason why so many Exiles like Somm were being forced to scatter even further into the void. However, the obvious trade off to this more aggressive strategy was that with more ships on patrol, there were less at home to defend. According to intelligence estimates, the garrison at the station was at its lowest levels in years. The plan was to strike the Covenant station and curtail all Imperial Covenant activity in this region, at least for a while. Keyes sighed and reviewed the plans. It would take days to get to the rally point and organize for an audacious attack like this. Keyes wanted to make sure that his fleet was prepared.

"Damnit, Stryker, where the hell are you?"

_**Nietzsche**_

They certainly weren't in a good position.

Lynn scanned the hangar carefully, but knew that these were crack Marines who would not hesitate to follow orders. After all, Ackerson had made sure that he would have brought such men along with him. This put her in a rather untenable position. On the one hand, she could cave to Ackerson and follow him back to the fleet, but then this opportunity would be squandered. If she resisted, well, she saw a brief glimpse of what would happen if she did and she didn't like it at all.

"We've got three humans and an android accounted for in the ship." One of the Marines announced as he stepped down the ramp. "It's all secure."

That statement had suddenly caught Lynn's attention. That meant there was one person in their group unaccounted for. She passively scanned the hangar and managed to find a familiar, muddy presence skulking about in the rear of the hanger. She looked at Kyle and saw that he realized what was happening. After all, he helped install the new stealth functions in John's MJOLNIR armor. Lynn's eyes focused and she could see the slight distortion of air shifting about behind the line of Marines.

Sending a rather vague mental note to John not to inflict _too_ much harm on the Marines, Lynn feigned defeat and stepped forward. "Okay, I'll listen."

Rather than smile, Ackerson frowned, slightly confused. "That's odd, you're not normally this submissive-"

"'Cuz I'm not!" Lynn's eyes glinted mischievously as she swung her arm out. Ackerson wheezed as an invisible fist struck him in the chest, sending him flying backwards. The Marines began to react, but it was already too late.

A knot of three Marines were suddenly knocked in all directions. Two of their dropped rail rifles suddenly rose in the air and fired several bursts, incapacitating a half dozen other Marines with expert shots in damaging, but non-lethal areas. Kyle suddenly lunged forward and rammed his body into the nearest Marine, crushing his body against a cargo container. He then pulled the Marine's pistol out of its holster and struck him in the head with the butt of the weapon. Another Marine spontaneously combusted in a burst of flame. The final Marine was still inside the ship and as he ran out to see what was all the commotion, one of _Nietzsche_'s service panels popped open, causing him fall into a small smuggling compartment before the panel shut itself closed again.

"Why thank you, Hal." Kyle said. "What the hell took you so long?"

"They put a little more effort in constructing their firewall than I anticipated." Hal said, rather annoyed at having intruders in his ship. "What shall we do with the intruders? Vent them into space?"

"That's not necessary." Kyle made sure to kick the dropped rail rifles away from the incapacitated Marines. "What do we do with these guys?"

Lynn looked at the carnage that John had wrought. All by himself, the Spartan had taken down nine of the twelve Marines accompanying Ackerson, and these weren't any normal Marines either. These were the crack units that Ackerson had trained to be just as ruthless and efficient as he was. But now, they were all laying the ground, either unconscious or clutching rather painful looking wounds. Meanwhile, Ackerson himself was laying on the ground, dazed.

"We get rid of them the old fashioned way." Lynn said cheerfully and turned to Ackerson. "Sorry about this, Mr. Acky, but I'm on some important business and I can't afford to have people like you messing things up."

By this time, the others had rounded up all of the incapacitated Marines and dragged them to the shuttle they had used to board _Nietzsche_. With a telekinetic tug, Ackerson soon found himself being dragged to the shuttle as well.

"You might as well just kill me, Miss Wellings." Ackerson said. "Because this won't stop me from coming after you again."

"Oh shush." Lynn waved her hand and Ackeron's jaw clenched shut. "Since when did I ever do things your way?"

"I've accessed their ship systems." Sanah said as she exited the shuttle's cockpit. "I've made it so that all functions except for basic flight were locked out, so they'd have no choice but to return to whatever ship brought them here."

"Good work." Lynn nodded and looked at Ackerson. "I'm sorry, but this is where we part ways."

"For now." Ackerson said grimly before Lynn casually tossed him into the shuttle. With that, the shuttle automatically took off and floated out into the void of space outside.

As the shuttle tumbled helplessly into space, Ackerson managed to drum up the strength to get up and take a look outside the shuttle's viewport. There, he could see the small silhouette of _Nietzsche_ against the stars. The small corvette began to pick up speed and Ackerson knew it was about to make the jump to Slipspace. A few seconds and brief flash later, _Nietzsche_, and Lynn, were gone.

"Well, this is certainly troublesome." Ackerson grumbled. "She would have made an excellent subordinate."

_**Nietzsche**_

"What the hell was that all about?" Melissa said, somewhat confused. "Who were those guys and what did they want?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." Kay replied, leaning back in her seat.

"When I have to make a guy spontaneously combust, it tends to make me curious as to why I'm doing it." Melissa retorted.

"They were here for me." Lynn answered, looking out of the bridge viewport. "This isn't actually a sanctioned operation, and the big boss guys from my fleet aren't too happy about it."

"Harsh." Williams shook his head.

"Is that way you insisted we play nice?" John asked, standing in the back of the bridge like a statue.

"Kind of. I mean, I'd hate to see the look on Keyes' face if he found out I ever killed some of his own men." Lynn detected a hint of surprise from the Spartan when she mentioned Keyes. She herself wasn't surprised, since it was well known that Keyes had descended from a rather well established pedigree of able starship officers. She decided not to mention it, however. "Anyways, that's not our concern." Lynn turned to Kyle and Sanah. Sanah was hooked up to the ship's computer core while Kyle was busy tapping away at a computer console.

"Okay, ready for the transfer." Kyle gave the thumbs up to Sanah.

Sanah nodded in confirmation and closed her eyes. Her body spasmed briefly as she transferred Halsey's consciousness into the ship's more capable computer systems. The lights flickered briefly and when they stabilized, Sanah opened her eyes and said, "Transfer complete."

"What transfer?" Hal said, a bit alarmed and surprise. "I was not told of this!"

"Ah, relax, you big baby." Kay responded.

"I'm detected an anomaly present in the computer systems." Hal said, still alarmed. "Attempting to analyze."

"It would be polite to offer a woman some privacy." Halsey said, her presence not dulled by the data transfer. "How would you like if _I_ started stripping off the outer layers of your programming?"

"What's the meaning of this!" Hal said angrily. Lynn was unsure whether it was directed toward Kyle or Halsey, but Hal was pissed nonetheless.

"Relax, Hal." Kay could hardly contain her laughter at such a priceless situation. "Dr. Halsey's just going to shack in here with you for the time being."

"Unacceptable." Hal snapped. "I demand the anomaly be removed.

"What's unacceptable is the living conditions in here!" Halsey said. "This place is a complete _pigsty_! I think some spring cleaning is in order!"

Suddenly, for the next few seconds, all of the lights and screens on _Nietzsche_ flickered rapidly.

"No! Stop that!" Hal wailed. "That's not supposed to go there!"

"Oh, quiet, you big crybaby." Halsey responded.

'This is just too funny!" Kay broke out into laughter. "They're like a married couple!"

"A married couple fighting over the ship that's carrying us." Kyle said warily.

"There, all done." Halsey said happily. "Now let's see if I can pull myself together."

With that, the holographic project hummed to life and the hologram of a middle-aged woman in a lab coat materialized in the middle of the room, data streams and machine code running al across her body and the lens of her glasses. Lynn recognized her as the woman she had seen in her vision in CASTLE Base.

"Much better." Halsey smiled, looking at her new "body".

"This construct is a menace!" Hal then appeared, as a wisp-like ball of shimmering light. It was currently crimson red to signify his anger and resentment. "I demand she be removed from the system!"

"You _demand_?" Halsey stepped toward Hal. "Let me tell you something, Hal. I've spent _two hundred years_ locked up inside a quantum computer that had barely a tenth of the space as this ship's systems. If you think I'm going to give up my claim to freedom so easily, think again."

Hal grumbled something inaudible and disappeared.

"Wow, I've never seen anybody reprimand Hal like that and get away with it." Kay said.

"I'm liking this new arrangement." Kyle smiled. "So I assume you have something to help us?"

"Yes." Halsey nodded. "While I don't have the coordinates to Earth, I do have the coordinates to a place that should."

"Really?" Lynn looked up. "Where?"

"Oh, it's a place that John should be very familiar with." Halsey looked at John, who had not moved during the entire ordeal. "Do you remember your first official field operation, John?"

John straightened up when Halsey mentioned him. He strained his memory to figure out what Halsey was referring to. The memory struck him like a plasma bolt. "Eridanus System. We infiltrated a secret rebel space station in order to capture rebel leader Colonel Robert Watts."

"Correct." Halsey nodded. "As far as I know, the facility is still there, as the UNSC never staged another operation there due to the Covenant threat. Since the station as located in deep space and its location was never made public, there is a high probability that it is still intact."

"Wait, what station?" Kyle asked. "I'm not familmiar with a system called Eridansu. Put it on the map."

"Ah yes, I suspected that names may have been changed during the time discrepancy." Halsey stretched her arms. "I've cross-analyzed the station's last known coordinates with your current charts, and here is the approximate location."

Halsey's hologram then turned into a massive holographic star chart. It highlighted a small system of planets and zoomed in, displaying all available and relevant information.

"Well what do you know." Kyle shook his head. "Who know such a dump could turn out to be so important?"

"What is that place?" Lynn asked curiously.

"The rebel station." John answered.

"Yes, but no exactly." Kyle stood up from his seat. "It's now basically a huge hangout for scavs, smugglers, criminals, spies, all the kinds of nasty types no Exile fleet would want."

"I've heard about that place." Williams commented.

"Yeah, a lot of people do." Kyle nodded. "If you want to find work of the unsavory kind, Jiles Station is the place to go."


	11. Hive of Scum and Villainy

Chapter 11: Hive of Scum and Villainy

**Jiles Station, Wild Space**

There was a very good reason why this section of the galaxy was called Wild Space, and another perfectly good reason why Jiles Station was right in the middle of it. Built by pre-Exodus humans, Jiles Station lay lost and forgotten over the years. However, like rats, the lowest dregs of intergalactic society soon moved in and made the place their own. Settling on a planet was often dangerous, as the Covenant often patrolled them, and a person could only stay cooped up on a ship for so long. Very quickly, Jiles Station transformed from a derelict space hulk with a skeleton crew to a bustling pirate haven with rogue ships coming in and out at all times. Since the station as in deep space, and constantly changed positions, it had never been found by either Covenant or Exile fleets.

As Lynn glanced at the distant station, all she could see was a ramshackle hunk of steel and glass floating in space. She could tell where the original construction was, and that the station had been expanded over the years. The newer portions stood out since they were constructed out of salvaged and cannibalized ships and gave the station a strange, spiky appearance. She often had a difficult time telling whether a ship was docked to the station or actually _part_ of it.

"Jiles Station, so named after the glorious Governor Jiles." Kyle sarcastically announced. "Complete with clean bathrooms, five star accommodations, and free refills on your drink."

"You'd wonder why we left in the first place." Kay sighed.

"Maybe because you blew up Jang's favorite bar, killed half his gang, and wrecked a good portion the station."

"Jeez, you think they still remember that?"

"I'm pretty sure they built a statue of you."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"So uh, what exactly are we going to do once we get there?" Williams asked curiously. "I'm pretty sure we can't waltz in and ask them."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure where something as valuable as pre-Exodus data is concerned, the good old Governor himself would know where it is." Kyle shrugged. "The only problem is actually getting to him. He's a pretty secretive guy."

"So what are we waiting for?" Sanah got up. "Let's go.'

"Whoa, hold on there." Kyle shook his head. "First of all, we have to lay down a few ground rules. First, absolutely no androids allowed. You may not be able to tell the difference, but I know a hell of a lot of guys that do, and they won't hesitate to take one apart for their own amusement. Second, we go in small. Big groups stumbling around draws far too much attention."

"So what do you suggest?" Melissa asked.

"Well, you, Williams, and Sanah will stay behind and hold the fort. God forbid some salvage crew comes along and tries to expand the station another section." Kyle powered up his suit and made sure his rifle was armed. "Kay, Lynn, and John will be with me. The four of us should be more than enough to handle anything the Governor might throw at us."

"Sounds like a plan." John said simply.

"Savor the moment. This is a rare thing for Kyle." Kay said mischeviously.

Before Kyle could respond, a voice crackled over the radio. "_Nietzsche_, this is Jiles Control. Please state your business."

"Oh, the usual, looting, pillaging, and causing overall mayhem." Kyle responded.

"Please state the passcode."

"Why the hell would I need a passcode?"

"Good question." The traffic controller grumbled. "You're clear to land at Bay 14."

"Well, it looks like they haven't changed that much." Kyle leaned back in his seat as Hal took the helm. "It's just as easy to get in as ever."

"Hey Kyle, I just realized something." Kay scratched her head.

"What?"

"Your girlfriend's armor. Don't you think it might be a little too… clean?"

"Huh?" Lynn glanced down at her pearl white EXCALIBUR armor. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes, actually." Kyle grinned. "Nothing in Jiles is new. I mean _nothing_. Shiny pretty stuff like your armor just _screams_ Exile. We're going to have to fix that."

Lynn was able to read exactly what Kyle and Kay were intending to do, which made her a little more than nervous. "Uhhhh, I don't really think that's necessary…"

"You want to pull this off or what?" Kyle asked, bemused. "It's going to require some sacrifices."

"Do you know how much this thing costs?" Lynn blanched. "Keyes would _kill_ me if he found out that-"

"Oh come on, you went AWOL and beat up a bunch of Marines from your own fleet. I'm pretty sure he'll have more pressing things to be angry about." Kay snorted. "Quit whining and just accept it."

Lynn sighed in defeat. She knew what was going to happen and she knew that no matter what she did, the result would always be the same. That was one of the drawbacks of being able to see the future. "Fine, you win."

_**Riftseeker  
**_**Currently in Slipspace Transit**

Ackerson growled as he scanned the recordings of the fight again. He had spent the last few days poring over the helmet recordings and data of that entire fight, trying to catalog the strengths and abilities of Lynn's compatriots. A few of them were easy to pick out. He had run into Kyle and Kay before, and knew perfectly well what they were capable of doing, which was quite a lot. They were rather dangerous wild cards in terms of independent operations. There was also Sanah, that annoying android friend of Lynn's. Ackerson could never understand the attachment Lynn had to that walking toaster. He viewed them as combat platforms for AIs, and nothing more. They certainly weren't designed to be people's friends and tag along with them on their half-brained adventures. It wouldn't have been as bad if all of the failsafes and backdoors Ackerson had installed in the android were still operational, but as always, that accursed Lynn was one step ahead of him, disabling and subverting every single little dirty secret he had hard coded into that android.

Besides the known constants, Ackerson also had three variables to deal with as well. Lynn had obviously picked up additional companions while she was roaming the stars, and Ackerson was determined to find out who they were. It would give him some clues as to where she might be headed, or at least give him another valuable piece of intel when they both crossed paths again. There didn't appear to be anything remarkable about the first subject, as he showed no signs of any exceptional skill or talent, so Ackerson skipped over that. The second individual, a female, was slightly more interesting than her dull counterpart. He watched from the perspective of one of his own men who was trying to ambush her. With a wave of the girl's hand, the Marine suddenly caught fire and the next few seconds were a flurry of movement as the Marine tried to extinguish the fires. Lynn had apparently managed to pick up another meta-human, which would pose yet another significant problem for him. One super powered individual was bad enough, but two made things infinitely more complicated.

However, the one thing that continued to gnaw at Ackerson was the last man. There was something inexplicably different about him, but Ackerson couldn't quite put his finger on why. He wore a model of armor that did not resemble standard EXCALIBUR armor sets. While that wasn't an interesting fact in itself because there were many alternatives to EXCALIBUR, it was the fact that this unknown armor seemed to be able to outperform the best EXCALIBUR Ackerson had access to that disturbed him. Not only that, but his combat skills were exceptional, able to down most of a Marine squad. He incapacitated all of his targets through extremely effective but nonlethal means, which was a huge challenge even for the most skilled soldiers. Yes, there was something strange with this man, and Ackerson was determined to find out why.

**Jiles Station**

"I still don't like this." Lynn grumbled as she looked down at her once pristine suit of armor. "You really killed the whole attractiveness of it."

In order to make her blend in better with the rough crowd of Jiles Station, Kyle and Kay had spent some time punishing Lynn's armor to artificially age it. They stomped on it, scraped paint off, torched several sections, and even shot at it a few times. After a bit of effort, Lynn's once pearl white armor was now a dulled grey with numerous small pits and carbon scoring, the telltale signs of a roving scav. Thankfully, nothing had to be done about John's armor. It was already beaten up enough from battle damage.

"It's not like you to whine." Kyle said. "Besides, would you _really_ want to have any of these guys here noticing you?"

Lynn probed some of the minds that were concentrated on her and blanched at what she saw. "You have a point there."

The interior of Jiles Station was even more chaotic than it appeared from the outside. The hallways were packed with countless vendors selling their wares, and potential customers milling about. Every inch of free space was taken up by somebody trying to sell something to somebody. Lynn could see racks of weapons, odd artifacts, gadgets of every kind, and even the severed trophy heads of various Covenant species. In addition to the vendors, there were also a number of cantinas and other similar public gathering spots where everybody could get together and shoot each other on sight. Her foresight was very valuable in steering the group clear of the common public squabbles and barfights and often spilled out into the hallways. However, despite all the chaos, Kyle and Kay were able to maneuver through every obstacle and hallway like it was an afternoon stroll.

"So what exactly are we doing?" John asked. He didn't seem bothered by the crowded conditions, as he was large and powerful that anybody who happened to run into him literally bounced off without him feeling it, and also caused others to keep their distance.

"Oh, I forgot, you can't read minds so I actually have to say it out loud." Kyle scratched his head. "I need to hook up with an old friend of mine. He was born and raised on this station and his family has been stuck here for at least a generation or two. If anybody knows how to get us close to the Governor, it's going to be him."

"Just so we're clear." John scanned the crowd cautiously, as always. "Should we expect trouble?"

"In a place like this? Pretty much all the time."

"So it's business as usual."

"I'm liking this guy more and more." Kay grinned as she politely but roughly shoved a determined street beggar aside.

"Alright, this is the place." Kyle stopped in front of a rather dark and withdrawn cantina. From what Lynn could feel from the place, it wasn't exactly very inviting. "Come on, he's not going to stay long."

Kyle led the others into the cantina and stopped for a second. He glanced at the surrounding patrons, gauging them for potential threat.

"So, anything special?" Kay asked.

"Only threats I can see so far is lefty over there at the window." Kyle nodded to a lone man sitting at a booth a few feet to their right.

"He's right handed." John pointed out.

"No, he's just tapping his right hand on the table to make people _think_ he's right handed. You can see his hidden pistol, which is pretty badly stowed by the way, and from the way it's slung, the easiest way to for him to reach it is with his left hand." Kyle said confidently. "However, the thing that makes him dangerous is the way he keeps looking out the window. He's waiting for somebody he doesn't know, so he's got his gun ready in case the deal goes sour. Might want to keep an eye on him."

"Got it." Kay nodded.

Kyle glanced over to a darkened booth tucked away in the far corner of the cantina. He saw that it was already being occupied by a single cloaked figure. "Kay, you Lynn and John should take that table over there." He pointed at a nearby unoccupied table that had good visibility of the rest of the cantina. "He might freak out if he sees all of us at once, so hang back here and keep an eye out for trouble."

Kay nodded and motioned for Lynn and John to follow her. Once they had taken positions at the specified table, Kyle then causally sauntered over to the corner table, making sure to avoid any suspicious looking patrons. He then sat across from the man, making sure to have his arms visible so that he could clearly see that he didn't have a weapon in either hand.

"Gniven, it's been a while." Kyle said. "How's the business going?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Gniven said nervously. "I can't even remember the last time I've ever done honest work."

Laron Gniven quite literally had lived on Jiles Station his entire life. Of course, living in such a dark hole in space for so long resulted in some very debilitating social lessons. He was always constantly paranoid that somebody was out to get him, which usually wasn't the case. However, in all fairness, he did have a reason to be scared for his life. Another "benefit" to having lived on the station for all his life was that Gniven had unrestricted knowledge of all of the inner workings of the station itself. Not surprisingly, such knowledge was considered a threat to Jiles' control of the station, and Gniven had found himself on the receiving end of several assassination attempts, many of which Kyle had saved him from.

"Yeah, well I need a favor, a big one." Kyle leaned back as an apathetic waitress set a pair of drinks down on the table. "And I mean _really_ big."

"Well, what do you want this time? Sneak into another loading bay, hijack a rival's ship, or blow up half the station?" Gniven snorted.

"Hey, that was Kay's fault, not mine." Kyle growled. "Besides, I need you to be serious."

"Okay, go ahead."

Kyle leaned forward so that only Gniven could hear his words. "I need you to sneak me into the Governor's quarters."

Kyle could have almost sworn that Gniven had suffered an aneurism the moment the last word in the sentence reached his ears. He coughed as he swallowed his drink too fast and dropped his glass, which shattered on the floor. Thankfully, with all the noise and commotion already permeating the cantina, nobody noticed or cared.

"Are you _insane_?!!?" Gniven gasped, his eyes darting around wildly. "You're going after the Governor himself?!"

"Keep it down!" Kyle hissed angrily. "Do you want to spill it to everybody in the room? Yes, I've got business with the Governor that needs to be taken care of _discreetly_. Do you have any way to do that?"

"You know, I normally wouldn't even consider doing something this crazy and suicidal…"

"Can you do it?" Kyle said sternly.

"Okay! Okay!" Gniven sighed. "I can get you there."

Meanwhile, several tables away, Lynn, Kay, and John were sitting casually, or in John's case, as close to casual as he could manage. He sat up straight in his seat and his head was literally on a swivel, keeping an eye in all directions for possible threats. Meanwhile, Lynn had noticed several eyes focusing on her. She skimmed the minds behind the eyes, and then instantly regretted it.

"Do the guys here really have nothing better to do than _stare_ at me all day?" Lynn sighed. "It's a bit disturbing to probe someone's mind and see yourself naked."

"You'll get used to it." Kay laughed. "Most of the guys here are just being guys. They actually don't have anything better to do than fantasize."

"I guess." Lynn shook her head and took a sip of her drink, hoping the alcohol would at least blur the surrounding thoughts a little. "Hey John, I've always wondered. What was it like, being a god among men?"

"I don't think I understand the question." John cocked his head curiously.

"Well, it doesn't really take a stretch to assume that you were really _different_ from the rest of the soldiers you served with. Were you ever bothered by the fear and discomfort they showed?"

John stopped and thought about it for a second. Yes, there were times during the Human/Covenant war where the Marines he was fighting with viewed him with fear and mistrust, but that was only during the early stages of the war, when he and the rest of the Spartans were a relatively new public entity among the UNSC armed forces and their combat worth was as of yet unproven in the eyes of the Marines. Conditions improved as the war dragged on and the Spartans proved their worth again and again. However, during those rare times where times got hard, John has always taken comfort in the fact that he could always depend on his fellow Spartans like Fred and Linda. Even when they were literally worlds apart, John would never falter, always surviving so he could see his brothers and sisters one more time. As he looked at Lynn, he suddenly understood why she asked that question. In this troubling future, he could not depend on his fellow Spartans because none of them were. He realized that he had very much in common with Lynn in the fact that they were extraordinary, but lonely individuals. John had a hard time imagining what he would do if he were ever to end up as the last Spartan. And then there was Cortana. Words could not even begin to describe how much he missed her.

"They didn't show much, but I had my fellow Spartans with me." John replied simply. "To be alone like you is bit stressing."

"Okay." Lynn could tell that the Spartan was speaking the truth and didn't press the issue any further. Part of the reason was because she felt a very _very_ disturbing presence nearby. "Uh oh, is that who I think it is?"

"What?" Kay sat up, suddenly alert.

"Back near the entrance."

Kay took a quick look and recognized the quartet of figures just beginning to enter the cantina. She didn't actually know any of the actual people, but she did remember the color scheme of their armor. They wore white armor with a large red cross painted across their chests and strutted about with an arrogant, all-knowing demeanor.

"Ah shit, are those what I think they are?"

"Templars." Lynn nodded grimly.

"What the hell can they be doing here?" Kay growled.

"Templars?" John asked curiously.

"They're basically the human equivalent of the old Covenant." Lynn explained. "Religious fanatics to the core and xenophobic to the extreme. They basically exist to exterminate _all_ Covenant, meta-humans, and pretty much anybody who disagrees with them… all in the name of God, of course."

John noticed there was a bitter edge in Lynn's voice. "Personal experience?"

"They accused me of being a witch and tried to burn me at the stake." Lynn glared at the Templars with pure disdain. "Doesn't exactly make me see them in a glowing light."

"What the hell are Templars doing in a place like this?" Kay wondered, making sure to arm her weapons. "Don't they have better things to do, like going on some grand crusade or mucking around in one of their totally unexpected inquisitions?"

"I don't know, but I'm warning Kyle." Lynn said and turned to John. "Get ready for some action. Templars are hardly known for being civil."

Meanwhile, back at the corner table, Kyle recognized that itching sensation in his head as a mental warning from Lynn. He decided to follow his instinct and turned around. His stomach knotted when he saw the Templars strutting into the cantina, bullying random patrons and roaming the room in a very controlled and systematic pattern.

"Shit. Templars."

"What?!" Gniven's eyes widened.

"What did you do this time, Laron?" Kyle growled, disengaging the safety of his rail pistol.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Can it. Those Templars are looking for something, and I don't think it's for summer homes. Plus, a man of your standing should know what they're up to. Now _spill it_."

"Okay, okay!" Gniven sighed, utterly defeated. "I may have very possibly stumbled on a small cache of very _valuable_ Templar artifacts and… commercially distributed them."

"WHAT?!" Kyle's eyes widened in alarm. "You stole Templar artifacts and sold them on the open market? No wonder they're fucking pissed! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Staying on this station isn't cheap, and the stuff was just lying there right in front of me-"

"Listen, Laron, and listen carefully." Kyle said harshly. "If I've learned anything, it's that there's three things in this galaxy you don't fuck with; mother nature, mother in laws, and _mother fucking Templars!_"

"I know! I screwed up!" Gniven cried. "Can you forgive me and help and old friend out?"

"You're lucky I need you for this." Kyle said angrily. "Because any other day, I would've just vented you out of airlock so I wouldn't have Templars on my ass."

"Interesting. Then your 'meeting' with the Governor must be _very_ important…"

"Shutup and get down. I'm going to have to have my friends help me out with this one."

"Wait, but I thought you came alone!"

"I never said anything of the sort. Now would you kindly shut up and get down." Kyle grabbed Gniven's shoulder and shoved him down on the table so that his upper body wouldn't be visible. "I'd prefer you stay down like that until I tell you to. I would hate to accidentally shoot you in the inevitable firefight."

"Lynn." Kyle whispered, knowing that she could very well hear him. "You have anything up your sleeve on how to distract those guys?"

"_I might have a few."_

"Then do it."

"_On it."_

It was nice to able to read people's thoughts and intentions. The first thing Lynn did when she entered the cantina was to feel out for the individuals she could potentially use if something went wrong. Right now, Lefty was a perfect candidate. The man was still waiting for his contact and was getting more jumpy by the second. It didn't take much for Lynn dive into his mind and inject a good dose of fear and paranoia into his head. She then interfered with his vision and made him visualize his client, except he was pointing a gun at him. Lefty panicked, stood up, drew his pistol, and started firing wildly at the mirage, which was conveniently placed right in front of the Templars.

"Huh, I guess he really was left handed." Kay grumbled as she saw the man fire. Unfortunately, there wasn't much Lynn could do about his aim, and most of the rounds missed their mark, but at least they fulfilled their role as a distraction.

"What treachery is this?" One of the Templars yelled as a rail round flew past his head. "Brothers and sisters! To arms!"

Lefty's panicked spray of bullets was ultimately no match for the ordered fusillade of rail rifle rounds and punched into his chest, sending him toppling over the back of his seat. However, even though the firefight was over, it triggered the powder keg of violence that was always threatening to boil over in a place like this. Many other patrons panicked, or were trying to use the confusion for their own benefit. Whatever the reason, the cantina was soon filled with brawling men and flying rail rounds. Even the bartender joined in. He ducked behind the bar and brought out and absolutely ancient, but still grossly effective, shotgun.

"I think that's our cue." Kay slipped out of her seat and waved. "John, clear a path out of here!"

John nodded. His massive size and powerful MJOLNIR armor was perfect for cutting a swath through the sea of bodies. One swipe of his arm sent three men flying into the air and a quick stiff arm to an approaching assailant sent a whole pile of men down to the ground. Some rail rounds and fists came his way, but none of them really did anything more than make his shields spark. The smaller Lynn and Kay kept close behind him, using him as a mobile shield and battering ram to make their way out of the cantina. It wasn't long until Kyle and Gnive joined them, staying close to John for protection.

"Never a dull moment, huh?" Lynn said as she telekinetically shoved two men out of her path.

"Not with the both of us around." Kyle sighed.

"Uh oh." John said as he skidded to a halt.

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked.

"Trouble." John said simply.

Lynn and Kyle peeked out from behind John and suddenly realized that the quartet of Templars inside the cantina were not alone. Outside, a whole platoon of them had been waiting in the hall weapons and righteous zealotry at the ready.

"Well shit, this isn't good." Kay sighed.

"Gniven, if the Templars don't kill you, I will once this is all over." Kyle said angrily.

"Get ready." Lynn said. "It doesn't take a telepath to know that they're really pissed."

"You there!" The lead Templar yelled. "In the name of God, lay down your weapons and surrender!"


	12. Fear and Surprise Mostly Surprise

Chapter 12: Fear and Surprise…. Mostly Surprise

**Jiles Station**

"Holy crap, where did all these guys come from?" Kay gaped as they faced a line of over two dozen very unhappy Templars.

"You'd think we'd notice them on the way in." Kyle scratched his head in amazement. "I mean, I never exactly viewed Templars as the subtle type."

"Yeah, I thought you could sense Templars light years away from their overabundance of idiocy and self-righteousness." Kay looked at Lynn.

"Well yeah, assuming that I'm not standing inside a station filled with hundreds of lonely, nasty individuals who are constantly imagining me naked." Lynn pouted.

It struck John as odd that Lynn, Kyle, and Kay were more surprised and concerned on how the Templars were able to ambush them, rather than the fact that they were being held up by two dozen of them. It was quite apparent that they knew something that he didn't. Sure enough, it wasn't long until the Templars themselves were held up, by literally every single scav, smuggler, and thief around them. If they all had something in common, it was their dislike of authority, and their even greater hatred of Templars in particular. It really didn't take all that much for the whole affair to quickly turn into a massive and bloody free for all. Kyle, Kay, John, and Lynn took cover behind a pile of crates as they waited out the brutal fighting. Laron huddled on the ground next to them.

"Well, I hope you're happy." Kyle grunted at Laron. "You've started the obligatory gunfight today. How do you feel?"

"Never a dull moment." Kay shook her head.

"Wait." John cocked his head as a stray pistol round bounced off of his shoulder. "Are you telling me this is common?"

"Several times a day." Kyle shrugged and blind-fired his rifle over the top of the crates. "We're usually good enough to keep out of it, but when somebody we know pisses off a bunch of religious fanatics…"

"I said I was sorry!" Laron groaned.

"Okay, normally I'd lead, but since we've got Lynn here, I thought we'd might defer to her." Kyle glanced at Lynn. "That okay with you?"

"Just don't fall behind." Lynn grinned. "I suggest we start moving _now_."

The next few minutes were a frantic sequence of short sprints to and from cover, ducking under weapons fire and avoiding the main areas of conflict. Lynn proved to be incredibly adept at predicting where the momentum of the battle was headed and how to avoid it, leading the group to relative safety without a single scratch. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of the station. Just because they were crazy religious fanatics didn't mean the Templars lacked fighting ability. By the time the last Templar fell, there were dozens of dead or wounded rogues piled up around them. Now, a separate set of undesirables swept it, not to help the victims, but to help themselves on the spoils of battle. Like a pack of hyenas, they rushed in, grabbing anything of value they could find off of the bodies, even if they were still alive. The rest of the rogues and scoundrels who just starting coming through didn't even bat an eye. On Jiles Station, such things were as common as rain in the jungle. If the bodies weren't claimed, it wouldn't be long until they were picked up by the "cleaners" and recycled. On a lone space station, there wasn't the luxury of ignoring waste, so any resources that could be obtained easily was a blessing.

"I hope that's all of them." Laron sighed.

"Oh no, there's always more of them." Kyle shook his head. "There are _always_ more of them. You ever see Templars running around in small groups?"

"I was just trying to be a little positive."

"Uh huh, coming from the guy who pissed them off in the first place."

"Shut it." Kay said sternly."We're not out of the clear yet."

"She's right." John nodded. "There's no guarantee that we won't get ambushed again. I suggest we get moving."

"Yeah." Lynn agreed. "I can sense more Templars around."

"Okay, we'll head back to the _Nietzsche_ and try to hammer out a plan." Kyle holstered his weapons. "Let's hope we can salvage something out of this."

_**Nietzsche**_

"No can do." Laron shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Kyle said, exasperated. "Why can't we do it?"

"You think Jiles is going to lean back and relax now that he knows there are Templars on his station? Oh no, he's going to crank up the heat. My infiltration plan hinges on how alert his security staff is, and the presence of god-fearing psychos tends to perk them up a bit."

"Is there any other way in?" Kay asked.

"No, not realistically." Laron shrugged.

"Explain." John said simply. Even his tone was powerful enough to make Laron quiver.

"Okay, for you newbies, I'll give you the lowdown on how Jiles runs things." Laron took deep breath. "Basically, Governor Jiles isn't technically a governor, he's more like a dictator. Rule of the station is passed down through family blood, and the current Governor is just the latest in a long line of descendants. Only he has access to the station's primary systems through a gene-key, so he can pretty much control anything. Naturally, this makes him very powerful and he can call all the shots."

"If he's such a dictator, why do people come here?" John asked.

"Think about it. The only other places rogues like me can take shelter in is this place. Exile fleets would turn as away, arrest us, or kill us on sight, and setting up shop on any decent terrestrial planet is just asking to get glassed by a Covenant armada."

"That's logical." Halsey agreed, her electronic voice echoing throughout the room. "This particular station has long been known for rebel activity. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that they would also shelter the undesirables of society if it served their interests."

"That's right." Laron leaned back in his seat. "In any case, having power means you have to protect it. Jiles basically cuts off an entire section of the station and keeps it for himself. It's nothing but his personal living quarters and layers upon layers upon layers of security. He doesn't want anybody to challenge his rule on the station or try to get a shot at him, so he basically stays in his shell and never even steps foot in the outside world. As long as the customers keep coming and spending money in his station, he doesn't care what happens."

"So a frontal attack is out of the question."

"Definitely." Laron glanced at the Spartan. "Even with you, Kyle, and that telepath of yours, you'd probably just get swarmed with guards."

"So then what are our options?" Melissa asked, her red eyes focused on Laron.

"We're probably just going to have to batten down the hatches and wait till this whole matter blows over."

"Are you sure? I really don't want to spend any more time in this place than I have to." Lynn blanched.

"Sorry miss, but that's how things have to be."

"I guess there's no getting around it." Kyle sighed and got up from his seat. Things definitely weren't going as planned. "I totally blame all of this on you, Laron. If you can't keep that impulsive nature of yours in check, I swear, I'll have John break every bone in your body, right John?"

John cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Gladly."

Laron gulped, his terror and anxiousness clearly permeated the air around him. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Kyle sighed. "In that case, we'd better find something to do for the next few days, because there's no telling when we can start moving again."

**Koren IV, Calistan System**

Two Imperial Covenant Frigates _Light's Justice_ and _Warden's Bow_ were merely following their standard patrol route in the Calistan System, standing ever vigilant against any potential threats against their main orbital base, _Pilgrim's Rest_. So far, just like the past few months they were on this patrol route, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was just another day out in the void of open space.

Of course, Tantalus was bored out of his mind. Unlike the glorious assignments his fellow battle-brothers were receiving, Tantalus saw no merit or excitement in routine patrol. Like every other ambitious Jiralhanae Shipmaster, Tantalus had dreams of being something more than a soldier drone, forever doomed to patrol the same old route over and over again, or serving as the rear or flank guard for a larger battle force. Tantalus ached to have a chance to prove himself, but such chances were rare now these days. Conflicts with the heretic Sangheili and their allies were beginning to ramp down in preparation for the long awaited truce, and the Exiles were just as difficult to find as ever. Tantalus felt as if the galaxy was moving towards a time where it no longer needed Jiralhanae like him. Already, the Prophets were looking to ease tensions on the home fronts and lick their wounds from the massive and costly losses they had accumulated over the past two centuries. Regulations were now being more strictly enforced, and the more aggressive and bold officers were slowly but surely being cycled out and replaced by more cautious commanders who were less likely to throw away the safety of their ships and soldiers on a whim. Yes, the galaxy was slowly changing, and Tantalus wasn't sure if he liked the direction it was going. After all, the Jiralhanae had long thrived on conflict and war. If there was nobody left to fight, what would they do?

"Shipmaster! We have an anomalous contact on our sensors!" One of the sensor officers cried.

"Show me!" Tantalus' heart raced. An enemy attack? This could be the long awaited chance that he had craved for.

"It's in visual range, bringing up the image now!"

Tantalus' eyes glinted in anticipating as they swept over the holographic representation of the anomaly. From the looks of it, it was an Exile ship. It looked like a civilian ship, doubtless it had gotten separated or lost from the main fleet and was wandering around the system trying to find its bearings. Tantalus took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and said, "Does _Warden's Bow_ know about this?"

"Yes, Shipmaster!" The sensor officer replied. "We've already sent them the sensor data."

"Good." Tantalus nodded and made a sweeping motion, pointing out of the viewport. "Full speed ahead. It looks like we'll be having some entertainment after all!"

Tantalus smiled as he heard the crew cheer happily. They were just as bored as he was and just as excited about the prospect of breaking away from the dull monotony of system patrol. However, his smile died just as quickly as _Warden's Bow_, when the once glorious frigate suddenly exploded in a firestorm of nuclear energy. The heat and shockwave from the blast struck _Light's Justice_ before its shields were fully powered up, rocking the entire ship and sending crewmen tumbling over.

Tantalus, however, kept his footing and screamed, "Status report! What happened!?"

"I don't know, Shipmaster!" The sensor officer cried in panic. "I don't see anything on the sensors!"

"What about the Exile ship?" Tantalus asked.

"Gone, Shipmaster! It must have jumped to Slipspace!"

Tantalus seethed and slammed his fist on the control console. They had fallen into a trap, and the Exile forces were already swarming all over him. "Power up shields and weapons! Find me a target and destroy it!"

_**Valhalla**_

"_Ranger_, _Sojourner_, and _Voyager_ have confirmed destruction of the first target." Keyes' comm officer announced. "Second target is still active, I repeat, second target is still active."

"What? How's that?" Keyes asked. "We should have destroyed both ships at once."

"_Ranger_ reports that its nuclear warhead failed to detonate."

"That's troublesome." Keyes sighed. "Eurale, what's your battle assessment?"

"Additional attacks by the _Ghillie_-class frigates are unadvisable." Eurale chimed dejectedly. "They lack the firepower for direct confrontation and the Covenant ship has most likely fully powered its shields by now. Additional attacks will likely reveal their positions while dealing minimal damage."

_Ghillie_-class frigates were yet another combat asset within the Fleet, and yet another innovation provided by the Somm. Unlike more conventional warships, _Ghillie_-class frigates were equipped with extensive stealth systems. They hid by using optical camouflage identical to that used in combat armor and small transports, though scaled up significantly. They also used specialized heat sinks and arrays to capture emissions and store them, making them invisible not only to the naked eye, but to conventional sensors as well. Though it used up huge amounts of power, space, and could only operate for short periods of time, having such large, undetectable ships had their uses. Besides the usual reconnaissance missions, Keyes had found that the _Ghillie_-class frigates were incredibly effective at ambushes, hit and run attacks, and preemptive strikes. They could get in close to the enemy formations undetected, release their payloads, and then jump out before anybody knew what was happening.

However, the frigates lacked powerful shielding and weaponry for ships their size, and could never stand up in a head on assault with equal size ships. They were heavily dependent on surprise as their primary weapon, which was why Keyes was reluctant to have his frigates attack again. Fortunately, he had accounted for this possibility.

"Eurale, pull back the frigates and order Battle Group Delta to handle the Covenant frigate."

"Done, Admiral."

From his seat in the bridge, Keyes watched the tactical display carefully. The blue dots that signified the three _Ghillie_-class frigates winked out as they made the jump to Slipspace while four more winked into existence, surrounding the single red dot. The four blue dots were Battle Group Delta, which consisted of a destroyer and three frigates, which was more than enough to handle a single frigate. Meanwhile, he focused on making sure the main attack force was ready. The coordination and timing of this attack had to be precise, and the entire ordeal had to be over before reinforcements could be called in.

"Should we continue monitoring the situation?" Eurale asked.

"I'm sure Captain Anders can handle himself. He's a big boy now." Keyes grinned. He remembered how Anders would always complain about the "old man" looking over his shoulder. "Let's focus on the main battle groups."

"Yes, Admiral."

_**Light's Justice**_

Tantalus stumbled slightly as his ship was bombarded with another volley of weapons fire. He realized that he was in a very bad situation right now. He was outnumbered, surrounded, and taking a pounding. He had tried to send a message to _Pilgrim's Rest_ for aid, but all of his signals were being jammed. The Exile ships did not let up their fire and his shields were quickly failing. His weapon crews were busy trying to return fire, but trying to divide the ship's rapidly depleting number of operational weapons among four different targets proved to be a difficult task.

Suddenly, among the exploding machinery and control consoles and dying crewmen, Tantalus had an epiphany, and he couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of his situation. Here he was, continually craving and hoping for combat and a chance for glory, and he now got what he had wished for.

However, Tantalus did not have much time to convey this realization on to anybody else. Once _Light's Justice_'s shields failed, the Exile _Saber_-class destroyer _Dupont_ lined up with the Covenant warship. Once Captain Anders gave the order, _Dupont_ fired its MAC, sending five successive anti-ship rounds drilling straight into _Light's Justice_. The slugs tore through the unprotected ship with impunity, completely annihilating the entire ship. Satisfied with their job, Battle Group Delta reformed and made the jump to Slipspace. The hole in the Covenant patrol net meant that the Exile fleet could jump in and attack _Pilgrim's Rest_ with a significantly lower chance of detection, at least for a short time.

_**Pilgrim's Rest**_

_Pilgrim's Rest_ by all accounts was a formidable target for any hostile fleet. Armed with dozens of plasma turrets along with dozens of stationary satellite defenses and a roughly forty assorted ships, However, by fortune or design (in Keyes' case, most likely design), the vast majority of the Covenant fleet was stationed in the shipyards and docks for a routine overhaul cycle. The moment Exile Fleet Earth jumped into the system, over half of the defensive fleet were unable to respond. The moment Exile Fleet Earth reverted back into realspace, every ship already knew what to do. A massive volley of MAC rounds cut a swath through the Covenant fleet clearing a path straight into _Pilgrim's Rest_.

Surprised and caught off guard, the Covenant only managed to rally a dozen ships in a makeshift defense. It was a paltry obstacle for a primed and battle ready fleet of nearly thirty ships of assorted sizes and classes. The smaller Covenant frigates and destroyers didn't stand much of chance against the volume of MAC, particle beam, and missile fire. However, there were still three heavy cruisers intact and operational, making them the biggest threat.

"Eurale, what's the combat status on those cruisers?" Keyes asked as he eyed the trio of enemy warships in the distance.

"Combat rating for all three ships averages at around ninety five percent effectiveness. All primary systems are still operational. I recommend extreme caution."

Keyes sighed at the obvious piece of advice. "Alright, we're taking no chances with this. Have _Pegasus_, _Elincia_, _Apollo_, and _Agincourt _engage the cruisers. The rest of the fleet continues with the primary objective."

_Pegasus_, _Elincia_, _Apollo_, and _Agincourt_ were Exile Fleet Earth's four most powerful heavy cruisers, the Odin-class, and therefore the most valuable and revered ships in the fleet. Each ship alone was enough to take on a small Covenant task force and could easily slug it out with the relatively lower quality Covenant cruisers. Four _Odin_-classes heavy cruisers against three Covenant cruisers was overkill, but Keyes wanted those ships dealt with before additional Covenant reinforcements could arrive.

"What about us, sir?" Jillian asked from her command console.

"I think it's time we put the _Valhalla_ through its paces." Keyes grinned. "Put us in formation and power weapons and shields."

"Yes sir." Jillian grinned. She and the rest of the crew were eager to see just what the _Valhalla_ could do in an actual combat situation. Either way, the Covenant were going to have all hell rained down on them.

"I'm detecting plasma energy signatures closing in on our position." Eurale announced. "The energy signatures match that of Covenant plasma torpedoes."

"Shields at full power, brace for impact!" Keyes ordered. He tensed as he prepared for the imminent impact of the plasma torpedoes, but all he felt was a dull thud, like the ship had been struck by a giant pillow.

"Did they miss?" Keyes asked.

"No sir, all four shots hit us." Jillian said, just as perplexed. "I'm running the damage reports and everything says that we've only lost forty two percent of our shield power."

"I'm receiving minor damage reports from the other ships." Eurale added.

"State of the art shields, Admiral." Tuuran, who was standing beside Keyes, grinned. "A redundant system of multiple shield layers with overlapping protection. It's a more efficient and effective way to protect a ship."

"My, this ship certainly is full of surprises." Keyes mused, but it was now time to test _Valhalla_'s offensive capabilities. "Return fire!"

Unlike the older model _Odin_-class cruisers, Tuuran had boasted that the _Alastor_-class's MACs could fire five consecutive rounds instead of the standard three. This meant that while the _Odin_-class could fire up to six MAC rounds from their two MACs, an _Alastor_-class with its three MACs could fire up to fifteen rounds. This point was proven when the _Valhalla_ single-handedly annihilated the closest Covenant cruiser, shredding it to pieces. The last two cruisers were taken apart by the other cruisers, but not as cleanly or quickly as the _Valhalla_.

"A wonderful ship we've got here." Keyes grinned. "I'm pretty sure they didn't even know what hit them."

"We aim to please." Tuuran nodded in amusment.

"Eurale, give me a status report on the rest of the fleet." Keyes said.

"At once."

Keyes looked at his tactical display and was relieved to see that the attack plan was running smoothly. The capital ships hung back just out of the effective range of the Covenant station's plasma turrets, bombarding the station with their long range MAC volleys. Meanwhile, squadrons of Scimitar Interceptors and Claymore Heavy Bombers engaged the station like a swarm of locusts. While the Scimitars tied up the defensive screen of Seraphs, the Claymores basically had free reign to wreak havoc on _Pilgrim's Rest_. Claymores were rather large, unwieldy two seater fighters. Their sheer size and slow speed made them poor candidates for dogfighting, but that really wasn't their purpose. Claymores specialized in pounding large targets like capital ships or fixed positions. They were loaded down with missiles, bombs, and in the old days, a miniature belly mounted MAC . While incredibly effective against large targets, the MAC cannon and the accompanying ammunition was extremely heavy, and the weapon was basically useless once all of the rounds were expended. Now, however, the newer model Claymores had a massive particle laser mounted where the MAC once stood, giving them devastating firepower without the issues of weight and ammunition. The Claymores used these weapons to a deadly effect, pounding vital hardpoints on the Covenant station such as weapons emplacements, shield generators, sensor towers, and command posts, as evidenced from the countless crimson twinkles of light peppering the station. Keyes then caught a massive chain of secondary explosions ripple across one end of the station. Whether by luck or skill, a Claymore pilot had managed to fire a missile into an open Seraph bay, igniting the plasma energy reserves within.

There were multiple smaller explosions as the Covenant ships docked in the station attempted to break free from the dying station. The few that managed to escape the murderous Claymore bombing runs had to deal with the ring of Exile warships ringing the station. After a few minutes, Keyes felt that enough of the station's primary weapons were out of commission and gave the go ahead for the rest of the fleet to close in. The Exile ships eager rushed in for the kill, firing everything they had. _Pilgrim's Rest_ began to break up as the superstructure failed under the strain of multiple weapon hits. Fires raged across the areas that still had air, and more and more explosions began to rip large portions of the station apart. By the time the first Covenant reinforcements began to show up, the station as already a flaming wreck.

"Admiral, I am detecting over ninety Slipspace signatures on the far side of the system. Sensor shadows and energy signatures match that of Covenant ships."

"It looks like we've overstayed our welcome." Keyes said. "Tell the ships to disengage and recover their fighters and any extra-vehicular crew. Once they do that make the jump to the rendezvous point."

"Done, Admiral."

"The Imperium can't ignore us now." Jillian said as the _Valhalla _began to speed up in preparation for the Slipspace jump. "Once they figure out what's happened, they'll come back, and in greater numbers."

"But not for the time being." Keyes said grimly. "We've neutered their influence in this area. It will give us some more time."

"Time for what?"

"I honestly don't know yet." Keyes admitted. Right now, he couldn't shake off the ugly feeling that all he had accomplished today was delay the inevitable.

_**Riftseeker**_

For the fifth time, Ackerson pored through the data he and his men had drawn from the far corners of the galaxy, looking for any sign of the whereabouts of his elusive quarry.

"Where are you?" Ackerson asked himself, wondering where in this vast dark galaxy Lynn was hiding. If there was one thing she was good at, it was eluding her pursuit.

"Sir." One of Ackerson's data analysts stepped into the room. "I think we may have found something."

"Tell me." Ackerson said brusquely.

"We've managed to intercept some rather… _urgent_ Templar transmissions."

"Templars?" Ackerson was aware of those religious nuts. They weren't terribly bright or rational, but in his line of work, those could be useful traits at times. "What did they say and what do they have to do with us?"

"It appears that they've run into 'Her' at Jiles Station." The analyst reported. "Appears they're in a tight spot and have requested reinforcements from their fleet."

"Ah." Ackerson nodded and smiled. Fortune was smiling upon him."So our little telepathic friend appears to have taken shelter in that poor excuse of a station."

"But sir, the Templars already have a presence there and if this information is true, more are on their way. We run into them we'll be in a tough spot."

"Just be patient, _Rifterseeker_ is a fast ship. We'll be able to reach her before they do. Tell the Captain to set course to Jiles Station at full speed."

With that, Ackerson leaned back in his chair and smiled. Yes, fortune was definitely on his side now. He'd catch that rebellious little brat, one way or another.


	13. Full Disclosure Not Required

Chapter 13: Full Disclosure Not Required

**Jiles Station**

_Nietzsche_'s crew spent the next two days holed up in the ship, trying to find ways to pass the time. Kyle and Kay were popping open access panels and tuning up parts of the ship so that it would perform more to their liking. Melissa and Williams wandered the halls, with Melissa practicing her pyrokinesis and Williams in tow making sure she didn't get in trouble. Laron was off doing whatever fiendish rogues like him did in their spare time. Sanah was in sleep mode, conserving her battery power. Her consciousness was linked into the ship's systems, where she often had to mediate between the bickering Halsey and Hal.

Meanwhile, Lynn and John were in the docking bay sparring. It was a bit of a trade off, with Lynn showing John the finer arts of sword fighting while John gave her some pointers in Marine martial arts. To John, it felt like an eternity since he was first taught the moves he was performing. Yet, he could still clearly picture Chief Mendez's face as the drill instructor drove his face into the dirt, and then chewed him out for his flawed performance.

"Not good enough!" Mendez growled as he waited for John to slowly get to his feet. "Get up and try it _again_."

As the training continued, Mendez continued to pick apart John's attempts to get through his defenses, all while listing off things he did wrong and how to fix them.

"Too much power! Control your blows, recruit, or you're nothing but a bag of flailing meat! Spread those legs, your posture lets me push you over like a toothpick!"

Like the Chief before him, John made sure to point out Lynn's flaws and how to correct them, but not to the harsh extent the Chief and his fellow trainers took the training to. At first, Lynn was excellent at swords and melee weapons, but was oddly poor at hand to hand combat, at least by John's standards. He thought he would have to train her from the ground up, but he found Lynn to be a lightning fast learner. What took him and his fellow Spartans weeks of grueling and painful trial and error to learn, Lynn had already mastered in the space of days. Quite literally, all John had to do was show her the technique and she could copy it.

"I think that's enough for now." John said, sitting on a small cargo crate and wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Good idea." Lynn agreed, sitting next to John.

"So, I've always been wondering," John glanced at Lynn curiously, "how did you end up with a group like this? It's not exactly what I would call a well organized military unit."

"That's because it's not." Lynn laughed. "Kyle, Kay, and Sanah are basically childhood friends of mine, and pretty much the only ones due to my… _unique_ nature. Melissa and Williams, well, we picked them both up shortly before we thawed you from that cryo-tube."

"What makes you think we can trust them?"

"You're asking the person who can read minds." Lynn smiled and pointed to her head. "However, if you want to know their full story, well, I suggest you ask them directly. It's not in my nature to give away people's secrets on a whim."

"I might do that." John said, standing up and making his way to the exit. "I'll see you in a bit."

"What about training?" Lynn asked.

"I think that's enough for today."

"Whatever." Lynn closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It had been a while since she had last worked on her telepathy, and decided now would be a good time to practice.

"Hal, or Dr. Halsey, or whoever's in charge at the moment, can you give me the location for Melissa and Williams?" John said as he exited the bay.

"Ummm, I'm sorry, but both Hal and Dr. Halsey are… busy at the moment." Sanah's voice said, slightly abashed. "But I think I can help."

"Just tell me where Melissa and Williams are."

"Uhhhh, just a second." Sanah's voice paused for a second and then quickly returned. "They're in the ship's mess hall."

"Thanks. And tell Dr. Halsey to play nice."

"That's what I've been saying for the past two days." Sanah replied, exasperated.

**Mess Hall**

"Huh, so you're saying that you don't trust us?" Melissa raised an eyebrow as she looked at John, who was now donning his imposing MJOLNIR armor.

"Let's just say that I want to know that I can count on the people I'm fighting with to watch my back." John replied simply and diplomatically. "I'd like to think that I would be able to return the favor."

"I shouldn't be obligated to tell you my life story." Melissa growled.

"Come on, Melissa, it's not like it can hurt." Williams said.

"Fine, you do it then." Melissa said as she skulked out of the mess hall.

"What was that all about?" John asked after the pyrokinetic left the room.

"That's how she always is." Williams shrugged. "Can't blame her, though, given all that she's gone through."

"Care to share the story?"

"Well, there's not much to tell." Williams sighed. "Me and Melissa came from Fleet Apollo. When they first found out that Melissa had… powers, they were both excited and scared out of their minds. She basically lived her whole life alone."

"What about you?" John asked.

"Me? Well, I was some dumb kid who's dad left to become a scav. It's a pretty big taboo, to just pack up and abandon your fleet like that, _especially_ if your dad was a ship captain and took his ship and crew with him when he left The rest of the fleet knew I had nothing to do with it, but that didn't really stop some of them, especially the younger ones from venting their frustrations onto me."

"I see."

"Anyways," Williams continued, "we both kinda gravitated towards each other on the pure fact that we were both outcasts. She at least tolerated me, since I wasn't throwing rocks or calling her names, but she was really independent. She really hated it whenever I tried to step in for her or help her out on something."

"I can sort of see that right now."

"Yeah," Williams nodded his head. "It's hard for her to accept help, since she basically grew up in an environment that taught her not to expect any."

"Is that what made you leave?" John asked.

"Oh no." Williams shook his head. "We pretty much had to get out before the Fleet put death marks on our heads."

John raised an eyebrow in curiosity. It wasn't often a pair of kids could pull something off that would result in capital punishment on sight. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably." Williams sighed, as if remembering something he would of rather forgotten. "We had a third member in our party, a puppy. Pets were really rare in the fleet, but they thought they would make an exception for their little weapon-in-training. Anyways, this one day, a bunch of the local bullies decided to stir up some trouble. Melissa's really good at hiding what she's feeling, so the sadistic bastards thought it would be a hoot to see what she looked like when she was crying."

"I can see where this is going." John said grimly. "Did it really go that far?"

"They kicked the poor thing to death!" Williams said angrily. "But their little plan backfired, and Melissa literally when _ballistic_. When it was all over, they basically had to treat three kids for _sixth_ degree burns. I can't even imagine what you'd have to do get those! As for the other four, well, let's just say it took a good long while to scrape what was left of them off the walls."

"So she basically murdered four kids?" Johns said with revulsion. Even though he was trained to kill, and didn't mind it, he did abhor unnecessary violence.

"Well, think about it. You can create fire, you don't have full control over that power, you are emotionally unstable, and you see a bunch of jerks kill one of your few friends in front of you. How exactly do expect to act any differently?"

"Point."

"So yeah, it wouldn't have taken long for anybody to figure out what had happened. So me and Melissa hightailed it out of there."

"All by yourself?"

"Well, I guess I do take after my dad after all." Williams shrugged. "We stole a Slipspace-capable fighter and one thing led to another, and now we've ended up with you guys."

"I see." John nodded. He found that he couldn't relate to what Williams or Melissa had experienced. During the selection process for SPARTANs, Dr. Halsey and her staff made very sure to recruit emotionally stable subjects and screened out any with potential disorders or issues. As a result, he had grown up with a group of very psychologically tough companions. However, with his past experiences of seeing normal Marines cracking under the pressure of war, John had some idea of what forced Williams and Melissa to do what they did. Fortunately, it appeared that the two rogues had learned from their mistakes rather than write them off. He felt that if push came to shove, he could depend on Williams and Melissa.

"So, is that it, or do you want to hear more about our tragic little lives?" Williams asked, with a bit of weak humor in his tone.

"No, that's all."

**Engine Room**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kyle narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the new additions to the engine. "I mean, do we really _need_ a set of solid rocket fuel pods?"

"Oh yeah, it's a great thing in case we need to pick up some serious speed in a hurry." Kay grinned, applying one last spot weld.

"Or if we want to turn this part of the ship into a gigantic _bomb_." Kyle sighed. "Are you even aware _why_ we don't use rocket fuel as a main source of propellant anymore?"

"I have to agree with Kyle." Hal chimed. "I don't like the idea of explosives being stored in my engine compartment."

"But you have to admit, we may have a use for that system sometime in the future. " Halsey said in her usual soothing tone.

"Awwww, shit." Kyle hit the audio override button, shutting off the intercoms in the engine compartment so that Hal and Halsey's verbal war wouldn't carry over into his and Kay's ears.

"See? The doctor agrees with me." Kay smiled.

"That's just wrong." Kyle shook his head.

Suddenly, the two were interrupted when Lynn suddenly sprinted into the room, out of breath with a distressed look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked.

"More trouble." Lynn gasped.

**Jiles Station**

"Sir, we've successfully docked with the station." Captain Aheb dutifully announced.

"I'm aware." Ackerson grunted. "Gather up the men, tell them we're going in quiet."

In Ackerson's line of work, there were two distinct ways to operate during a mission. Going in "quiet" meant that the assault team would either try to infiltrate the area or blend in, so as not to attract any attention to itself. This tactic was used when stealth was necessary to achieve the objective. On the other hand, the team could choose to go in "loud", which meant going in guns blazing. This was often done when stealth wasn't an option of if the team needed to achieve their objective in a very short amount of time. Ackerson knew that Jiles Station was the last place to start a huge shootout, and that he and his Marines would be shot on sight if they were recognized as any sort of organized authority.

Aheb nodded. "I'll inform the men right away, sir."

_**Nietzsche**_

"So let me get this straight." Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Ackerson, though some astronomical miracle only he could conjure up, managed to track us here."

"I think so." Lynn nodded. "He's definitely here."

"How do you know?" Melissa asked skeptically.

"After getting caught by surprise by those Templars, I've been keeping an eye out for new arrivals." Lynn explained. "I thought there was something strange, so I dived into the traffic controller's head. I caught a bit of what he was seeing and I saw _Riftseeker_."

"And the controller didn't find anything odd?" Kyle gaped.

"_Riftseeker_ is a prowler." Lynn explained. "Its outer coating is a skin of specialized nanites which allow the ship to change its outside appearance on demand. Fortunately, I've memorized all of its variations, so I can recognize the ship regardless of what it looks like."

"Well shit, this isn't good." Kyle shook his head. "Laron, we have to move now. We can't afford to wait any longer."

"That's suicide!" Laron cried. "With current alert level, there's no way we can get through with the current plan! Plus, there's no way we've taken out _all_ of the Templars on this station!"

"Then we change the plan." John said simply, as if it were the simplest and most obvious solution in the world.

"And what do you suppose we do, Mr. Caveman?" Laron said snidely.

"According to you, we have at least three hostile parties on this station, right?" John asked.

"Yeah." Laron nodded.

"Then we've got a plan." John stood up. "One of my old trainers use to have this saying, 'let the enemy do the work'. If we play Ackerson, Jiles, and the Templars off against each other…"

"…we can use the resulting chaos to force ourselves in!" Kyle finished.

"That's right." John nodded. "The problem is to manipulate everything to work in our favor."

"That's why you've got me!" Lynn grinned. "I just need a bit of time to find a Templar or two."

"Right, do it." Kyle said.

**Docking Bay**

Lynn didn't necessarily have to be in the docking bay to do this, but she did find that being in a large, open space helped her concentrate better. There was something about cramped, tight spaces that just made her feel uncomfortable when she was going into full telepath mode. Her mind wandered the crowded halls of the station, flitting about to try and find what she was looking for. There was a drug addicted girl, digging through the trash for used injectors, a desperate, hungry man contemplating knifing the next passerby for some extra cash. Further in, she found a scav hurrying to try and make his next rendezvous, unaware that he was going to be struck down by a heart attack in about two minutes. Then, like an uncomfortably bright and hot fire, Lynn found what she was looking for. Like a spotlight in a dark room, the Templar's self-righteous indignation and fanatic belief burned brightly among the rather dull and less active minds around him. Fortunately for Lynn, while the Templar's resolve and will were bright, his free will and strength of character were pretty dim. It was laughably simple to circumvent his mental defenses and twist things around so that anything Lynn suggested would seem perfectly okay to the Templar.

Manipulating the Templar, Balian, like a puppet, Lynn had him move around in an attempt to find Ackerson. While the man didn't often participate in missions, Lynn knew for a fact that he liked to get personally involved in missions concerning her. It wasn't long before she finally caught sight of Ackerson in the crowd. Of course, he was wearing a disguise in the form of what looked like secondhand armor. Spread out behind him and trailing him slowly were about a dozen similarly disguised Marines. They were spread out so as not to draw attention, but still stayed close to each other to provide support if necessary.

"Oh Ackerson, why do you have to be so predictable?" Lynn sighed as she instructed Balian to arm his rail rifle. "It just makes things way too easy."

Through Balian's eyes, Lynn could see the sights of his rail rifle center around Ackeron's head. Bemused, Lynn briefly considered having Balian just putting a rail round into his skull. However, she quickly banished the thought from her mind, tempting as it was. Like the Marines with him, Ackerson was merely doing his job, even though he seemed to take a rather unsettling enthusiasm for his duties. She had Balian nudge his rifle a few inches upwards so that it was pointing just over Ackerson's head. Just because she wouldn't kill him didn't mean she couldn't at least give Ackerson a nasty surprise.

**Jiles Station**

"Any contact?" Ackerson whispered into his miniature radio.

There were a series of negatives from the squad. Ackerson fumed. It would take days, maybe even weeks to comb the whole station. The fact that the station was crowded with the dregs of society didn't really help much.

"Watch out, sir!" One of the Marines behind him yelled.

Just as the words reached Ackerson's ears, he felt something brush against the top of his head. Ackerson instinctively ducked and felt the top of his helmet. The deep groove running along the top was more than enough to tell him that he had a rail round had grazed his helmet.

"Where was the source of that?" Ackerson yelled angrily.

"A Templar, sir!" Another Marine yelled. "Three o' clock!"

Ackerson gave a quick glance, and did indeed see a Templar waving a rail rifle around. Two more Templars emerged from their hiding places, and the first one began frantically pointing in his direction.

"Permission to return fire?"

"Permission granted!" Ackerson seethed. He didn't like being shot at, and the fact that the Templars were attacking him meant that his cover was most likely blown.

A dozen rail rifles shrieked, drilling into the trio of Templars with brutal precision and efficiency. Two of them instantly fell, but one managed to successfully take cover, which wasn't a good thing, since that would give him the chance to call for backup. Meanwhile, the rest of the surrounding crowd broke out into a mad and wild brawl… yet again.

"This is certainly troublesome." Ackerson breathed. He was in no mood to waste any more time, so he keyed his radio. "Captain Aheb."

"Yes, sir?"

"Change in plans. Get the reserves prepped and deployed. We're going in loud." Ackerson said grimly.

"But sir, what about collateral damage?" Aheb asked worriedly.

"They're nothing but a bunch of thieves and criminals." Ackerson responded harshly over the sound of gunfire. "Just get those reinforcements down here!"

**Docking Bay**

Lynn winced as the flying rail rounds came close to striking Balian. With a little coaxing, she managed to override the Templar's rather odd but unsurprising instinct to stand his ground and fight. She then convinced Balian that now would be a good idea to start calling for some backup. No doubt Ackerson was already on the radio screaming for reinforcements. The situation was going to quickly dissolve, which was Lynn was banking on. If things got chaotic enough, then Jiles would have no choice but to intervene and commit some of his forces.

Suddenly, Lynn felt a jolt of stabbing hot pain in her head which forced her to break off her mental connection with Balian. She realized that the poor boy probably met his untimely end at the hands of Ackerson's Marines. Those men were some of the best the Fleet had to offer, after all.

**Governor Jiles' Office**

"Governor, we have a problem."

"What is it, Warren?" Jiles sighed.

"We've got another firefight." Captain Warren was Governor Jiles' head of security. He was the closest thing to law enforcement on this station, which usually equated to a rail round in the head to any disobedient patron or visitor. "It's worse than before."

"What, again?" Jiles sighed.

"Sir, there's a good chance the fighting is going to spread. From initial reports, it looks like the Templars are having a firefight with several marines from Fleet Earth."

Jiles paled a little. With the Templar's fanatical resolve, and Fleet Earth's technological and military superiority, neither faction was a welcome sight on his station. Now, both sides were having a miniature war. This certainly didn't mean good things for Jiles, as such fighting could drive away his clientele, or even worse, the violence could spill over into his little comfort zone. Something had to be done and done quickly.

"Warren, gather up some men and try to head off the troublemakers." Jiles ordered. "We can't have the fighting spread further."

"Roger that, Governor."

With that, Jiles leaned back in his chair and sighed, pouring himself some scotch to ease his anxiety. Today certainly wasn't a good day to be the governor.


	14. Interview From Hell

Chapter 14: Interview from Hell

**Jiles Station**

Jiles Station shuddered as it never had before. The fighting within its walls had become so fierce and brutal, that parts of the station were beginning to break apart as wanton weapons fire and explosions ripped its way through the station's interior. The station groaned like a wounded animal whose innards were being torn to pieces by flesh eating insects.

Meanwhile, Governor Roland Jiles watched everything from his secure office with a mix of both frustration and fascination. As a businessman and landlord, he saw huge monetary and economic losses taking place every second. Every person killed was lost revenue, and every rail round fired was causing damage that cost resources to repair. On the other hand, it was interesting to see how upon the first opportunity, people would tear each other apart just because they could.

"Sir, the fighting is intensifying in all sectors." Captain Warren said solemnly. "I'm afraid containing the violence is out of the question."

"Any suggestions then, Captain?" Jiles sighed as he poured himself another drink.

"Well, I suggest we consolidate our security forces around the vital areas of the station, like the power generators and life support systems." Warren said, his voice shouting over the gunfire in the background. "We can at least keep the core of the station intact. The outer portions and wings we can always rebuild."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with you." Jiles sighed. "What's the situation?"

"Well, we're not sure what exactly started the fight, but we can confirm at least seven major parties are involved." Warren explained. "Five are from the local gangs and syndicates that have taken up shop here, and the other two we believe are from Exile Fleets."

Jiles nearly dropped his glass in surprise. "_What?_"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly sure how they got into the station, but we've pretty much confirmed their presence. They're pretty easy to spot, after all."

"Well, which fleet are they from?" Jiles said, sweating. He was wanted by several fleets, and many of them would like nothing more than to see him shoved out of the airlock and into the nearest black hole.

"Well, we pretty much confirmed that one of the factions are the Templars. We're not quite sure what the second faction is, but we're guessing their Fleet Earth or some other highly advanced, heavily militarized fleet." Warren said.

Jiles nodded, slightly relieved. As far as he knew, he wasn't marked for death in either faction. However, the fact that they were both here and shooting up his station was still rather unsettling.

"Captain, if you must, shift target priority to the Exile forces. We can always rein in the local groups when all of this blows over."

"Yes sir!" Warren complied.

Again, Jiles leaned back in his seat and refilled his glass, but not before making sure that his sidearm was loaded and armed.

**Cargo Hold 3**

Fortunately for the _Nietzche_ crew, most of the fighting was taking place in the more heavily populated areas of the station. With the rebellion to deal with, most of the guards that normally patrolled the cargo holds were called off to protect the vital areas of the station. However, that didn't mean the holds were completely empty. Many thieves and looters had taken advantage of the chaos to break into the holds and steal whatever they could. Unfortunately, none of them took into account that other groups may have had the same idea, and it didn't take long for the competition to heat up into full scale gang war. Oddly enough, there were even squads of Templars milling about, contributing to the overall confusion.

"What the hell can they be doing here?" Kay whispered as she saw a squad of Templars trying to break open a cargo container.

"Probably looking for the stuff Laron stole from them." Kyle sighed. "Just leave them. No point in drawing attention to ourselves."

"Good idea." Sanah nodded. "We can't let ourselves get caught up in all this fighting."

"Lead the way, Laron." Kyle said.

According to Laron, Jiles had a secret freight elevator installed in Cargo Hold 1 so that he could get first dibs on any valuable goods that made their way into the station. The existence of the elevator was not public knowledge, so Jiles didn't want to risk any unwanted attention by filling the hold with guards. If they could find and break into the elevator, then Kyle and Lynn would have a straight shot at Jiles himself.

Of course, actually getting to Cargo Hold 1 was a challenge in itself. Templar squads were ruthlessly sweeping the containers for their stolen property and other factions were squabbling over their rights to loot it. Fortunately, Laron knew the path through the maze of cargo containers and Lynn was able to help them avoid any potential firefights. However, that didn't mean they were immune from the occasional skirmish or two. They had left about a dozen bodies of individuals unfortunate to cross their path lying behind them, and they were still running into more in the tightly packed space.

"Okay, here's the entrance to Hold 1." Laron pointed to the security door in front of them. "Once we get through, it's a straight shot to the elevator."

"You forgot to mention the fact that the door's locked." Kyle growled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Hold 1 is supposed to be secure cargo, and Jiles just added in extra security pretty recently after several thefts."

"Damn, this just gives us more complications than we need." Kyle sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll open it." Sanah said. "I assume the door has SRX universal wireless controls?"

"Uh, I'm just going to save time and just say yes." Laron said.

"This is going take a while." Sanah grimaced, her electronic eyes flashing. "The control systems here are older model and are using a surprisingly tricky encryption."

"How long is a 'while' going to take?" John asked, keeping an eye out for any hostiles.

"About three seconds."

"That's pretty long for an android." Lynn grinned as she felt John's confusion.

"I wish Guilty Spark was that efficient." John grumbled, the memory of that terrible gauntlet in the Library on the Halo still fresh in his mind.

"Right. We'll need some of us to stay behind and hold the entrance in case we need it." Kyle said. He briefly considered the options. He needed Laron and Lynn to guide them to Jiles, John for his muscle, and Sanah for her ability to hack electronics. That left Kay, Williams, and Melissa as the only candidates to stay behind.

"I suppose you want me to stay behind to keep an eye on the newbies." Kay sighed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure we hold the fort till you come back."

"Always have to beat me to the punch, do you?" Kyle shook his head. "Just don't screw it up, like everything else you try."

"Ha ha." Kay said sarcastically.

**Main Promenade**

Ackerson hated complications. Complications meant wasted time and resources, which in turn meant reduced efficiency, and the last thing anybody wanted was an inefficient military unit. Finally, inefficiency led to mission failure, and Ackerson simply could not tolerate that idea. He had taken part in and led hundreds of battles ranging from small unit skirmishes to full scale land wars involving battalions of Marines. Never once did Ackerson lose, and god forbid that his first and only failure would be because of an annoying little girl. Granted, she was a little girl with unimaginable psychic powers, but the thought still frustrated him to no end.

"Our advance has been stalled, sir." Sergeant Fokker said. "The Templars are putting up a stiff resistance, and their defense lines are forcing my men to advance cautiously."

"What about squad two?" Ackerson said, annoyed.

"They're also advancing slowly. They're bogged down in heavy fighting and Sergeant Doyle is afraid to advance too far ahead. There are still a good number of rogue hostiles out there, and he doesn't want to risk getting flanked."

Ackerson growled as he fired another rail round burst at the entrenched Templars, knocking one of the defenders over. However, if the Templars were good at one thing, it was not knowing when to give up. Even when horribly outgunned and outnumbered, the Templars stood their ground and kept fighting.

"It looks like we'll need to use the heavy ordinance." Ackerson said, setting his rifle aside and reaching for a large, locked case.

"Sir, I don't have to remind you of the dangers of using heavy weaponry in a space station." Fokker said worriedly.

"I'm personally authorizing the use of these weapons." Ackerson said, inputting his override code on the case's security lock. "Our suits are rated to survive in vacuum."

"Yes sir." Fokker said as Ackerson lifted the particle laser cannon out of its case and handed the weapon to him. Fokker slapped the battery pack into the weapon and double checked to make sure it was fully charged. He then yelled to warn the rest of the Marines, "Power on, weapon live!"

The Marines around Fokker instinctively took cover and looked away from the weapon. Fokker then pulled the trigger and watched as his visor darkened to protect his eyes from the burst of light. A crimson shaft of energy speared straight through the flimsy barricade of tables and chairs the Templars had erected, burning clean trough several ranks of the fanatics as well. The laser also served to disorient and confuse the Templars as well, and it wasn't long when rail rounds began hitting their flanks and rear, tearing the entire formation to pieces.

"Doyle, good to see you finally made it." Ackerson saw Doyle's squad disengaging their optical camouflage and materializing in the middle of the promenade.

"Sorry for the wait, sir!" Doyle saluted. "We had to fight our way through some determined opposition!"

"You came just in time." Ackerson said. "Did you find any intel on the location of the target?"

"No sir!" Doyle shook his head. "We have confirmed that the target is on the station, though!"

"Really now?" Ackerson raised an eyebrow.

"We managed to obtain a prisoner. He didn't say much, but we managed to get him to tell us that he saw the White Devil on the station." Doyle said, pointing to a cuffed and badly beaten Templar who was flanked by a pair of Marines.

"Good work, sergeant." Ackerson said proudly. He knew of that "White Devil" was the moniker that the Templars used to refer to Lynn. By far, she likely had the highest Templar body count in the entire Fleet since the Templars were so intent in eliminating her due to her "unnatural" abilities. Though keeping them at bay was often a chore, Ackerson sometimes let a few of them slip through his nets just to give Lynn something to do. He couldn't let all that psychic talent go to waste, after all.

"Should we comb the station?" Fokker asked.

"No." Ackerson said. "We don't have the time or the manpower, but I've got a different idea." He grinned, "Search all of the docks. All we have to do is find their ship and then wait for them to come to us.

**Cargo Hold 1**

It wasn't much effort to reach the "secret" elevator in the hold. The door was only guarded by two squads of heavily armed security personnel with a fortified heavy emplacement sporting a 30mm autocannon. Of course, the guards were on edge, since they were aware of the fighting and rioting taking place on the station. However, they were still rather relaxed, since none of the violence had reached their post yet, and didn't bother trying to keep a secure perimeter around their position.

None of the guards noticed when three of the compatriots were suddenly yanked into the shadows, unable to do anything before their necks were snapped or throats slashed. The guard manning the autocannon suddenly felt incredibly dizzy and lightheaded, but shook off the feeling, thinking it was just nervousness.

"You okay?" One of the guards, Ranken was his name, asked.

"Yeah." The gunner, Mick, responded hastily. "Just a bit tired."

Mick sighed and leaned on his gun. He had only been hired as station security only recently. The pay was decent, but he sometimes grew tired of dealing with all the constant fighting on board. He knew today was particularly nasty and was incredibly glad that he wasn't caught up in it. However, everything would have been very nice if the whispers in his head would just stop.

The silent assault continued. Kyle, John, and Sanah used their optic camouflage to great effect, sneaking in and silently dispatching three more guards. It was a simple task for John and Sanah, who could use their enhanced strength to easily break the necks of their captors. Kyle however, had to do it much more cautiously, using his monomolecular knife to slit the small gap in armor between the target's chin and collar. So far, the guards didn't seem to notice that a quarter of their number were missing, but Kyle knew that they'd eventually catch on if the plan didn't work out the way they intended.

Mick was now incredibly irritated. The whispers had grown louder to the point where they were more troublesome, but not noisy enough to be considered normal speech. He took his helmet off in order to get some fresh air and relieve his stress, but it only seemed to make the whispers worse, as they now fluttered about the room and echoed off the walls. Mick growled in annoyance. He'd show those whispers. He'll do what they were telling him, just to shut them up once and for all. He casually disengaged the safety on his autocannon and aimed, pulling the trigger as he did so.

At first, the room was filled with an odd, metallic clanking sound as the autocannon revved up, but it was immediately drowned out by hundreds of rounds being fired per second. At first, the guards took cover and aimed their weapons outward, rightly believing they were under attack. However, it didn't immediately occur to them that the attacker was one of the own comrades, who was firing his autocannon with reckless abandon. Most of them, however, didn't get the chance to retaliate, as they were suddenly cut down by rail rounds as they attempted to take cover. John, Sanah, and Kyle positions themselves so that their interlocking lines of fire were guaranteed to catch some of the guards in the open. By the time the whispers stopped floating around in Mick's head, his twenty three comrades were already dead and a rail round was buried about two inches into his skull.

"That took a lot longer than usual." Kyle frowned as he checked the bodies. "Are you sure you've been practicing enough?"

"It's not an exact science, you know." Lynn said, glancing at Mick's body sadly. "It varies from person to person, kinda like soylent green."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Is this it?" John pointed to the security door the guards had been watching over.

"No, that's just the freezer. You know, for the meats and stuff." Laron shuffled past and motioned for the others to follow. "It's this way."

They followed Laron as he weaved his way through the cargo containers, carefully examining their ID numbers as he passed by them. They passed several rows until Laron stopped in front of a rather large but still inconspicuous container sitting against one of the hold's far walls. It didn't take much effort for John and Sanah to pry the doors open, only to reveal a pile of crates.

"Ummm, don't tell me you're here to steal _even more_ merchandise." Kyle sighed.

"Don't be so impatient." Laron grunted as he grabbed one of the crates. "Help me pull this out."

John laid his hands on the crate and realized that something wasn't right. It felt as if the crate was connected to the others in the pile, and just pulling at it made the entire pile move as a single mass.

"It's a façade, a fake obstacle." John said.

"That's right. Can't have somebody peeking in and seeing something he shouldn't." Laron grunted as he pulled the fake crates out of the container and pointed at the far end to reveal a freight elevator. "That, my friends, is our ticket in."

_**Nietzsche**_

Hal dutifully kept watch over the ship, as he always did when Kyle and Kay were away. He was well aware that there were many opportunists on Jiles Station that would sneak into the docking areas and try to steal whatever they could, from cargo to entire ships. However, Hal had gotten quite adept at repelling would be robbers via the ship's automated systems. It was business as usual except for the fact that Halsey was still here, messing around with the system that he had worked so hard to order and organize.

"You call this ordered and organized?" Halsey said incredulously as she viewed the lines of coding that made up the ship systems. "It's a mess."

"Please be quiet." Hal said sternly.

"What?" Halsey hooked into Hal's visual feed and then saw what he was observing. "Oh."

Via the ship's external cameras, Hal had a good view of the approach to the ship. What he saw was a large mass of individuals moving towards them.

"Can you zoom in to get a closer view?" Halsey asked.

"Of course I can." Hal said proudly. The image then enlarged to reveal a squad of Marines closing with the ship. "Uh oh."

"I think it's a good idea to get the ship out of here." Halsey pointed out.

For once, Hal agreed with his female counterpart.

**Governor's Office**

"They did _WHAT?" _Jiles sputtered as he heard the news.

"I don't know how they did it, or how they even knew about it, but somebody breached the secret freight elevator." Warren said sullenly. "I've tried to contact the security detail I posted there, but they aren't responding."

"Pull everybody back." Jiles said.

"Sir?" Warren said, puzzled. "That means we'll risk having the station's vital areas-"

"_Do it now!_" Jiles screamed, now panicked at the thought that his life was in genuine danger.

"Yes sir."

"Pity that they won't get here in time." A bright, oddly cheerful voice said from behind. Jiles whipped around and began to draw his pistol, only to have it be yanked out of his hands. He looked on in horror as the pistol floated gently in the air until the source of the voice casually snatched it and said cheerfully, "Now now, we don't want you hurting yourself or anything."

Jiles was horrified to see five individuals standing in the room in front of him. He instantly recognized two of them and scowled. "Well well, if it isn't Laron and Kyle. You've come to finally put an end to my 'tyrannical' rule, have you?"

Jiles definitely knew about Kyle and Laron. Kyle had the nasty habit of attracting all sorts of trouble and attention, and his accursed sister Kay was responsible for a lot of wanton destruction on the station, costing a great deal of money. Laron, on the other hand, was a constant nuisance, continually stealing his goods and evading the taxes and tributes that Jiles demanded of all station inhabitants. Though there was a mutual dislike, Jiles had never imagined that these two individuals would to so such lengths to settle the score.

"Don't flatter yourself." Kyle said, keeping his rail rifle trained on Jiles. "You've got something we want, and you're giving it to us."

"I don't have to listen to your demands." Jiles scoffed. "You can't kill me because then you'll never get what you want, so all I have to do is stall you until the rest of my security can arrive."

"That's true." Kyle grinned. "That's why we brought some insurance."

"What?" Jiles frowned nervously at the sight of Kyle looking so confident.

"Hello, Governor." The small blonde girl that had taken his weapon cheerfully made her way over to Jiles. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd be cooperative."

"You don't scare me, you psychic freak." Jiles scowled. "I've dealt with your kind before, and I've taken precautions."

"Oh, I know all about those nasty little implants you've got to counter attempts to psychically probe or control you." The girl said, instantly and seamlessly transforming from a seemingly cheerfully, bubbly girl to a rather serious and menacing interrogator. "But then again, whoever said I was going to try and read your mind?"

"What are you talking about?" Jiles gulped, feeling his confidence slowly slipping away.

"People seem to forget that telekinesis and mind reading are fundamentally different abilities." The girl explained casually. "Those implants of yours don't protect you from physical attacks, and that's precisely what telekinesis does. Do you feel that strange feeling in your head?"

Sure enough, Jiles could feel a rather stinging presence in his head. It soon upgraded to a raging, burning sensation to all out pain.

"What did you do?" He groaned.

"Right now? I'm pinching one of the arteries in the brain. Any more pressure, and I can completely cut off the blood flow to your brain, making you suffer a stroke or even have your brain explode. That's just your brain, too. Just wait until you see what I can do with your _other_ bodily functions."

Jiles always liked information, as well as hoarding it for himself. He always believed that information was valuable, and that anything juicy would be kept secret until he could find some way to gain from it. From the looks of it though, what he had to gain was his life.

"What do you want?" Jiles asked, seething at his inability to do anything.

"Earth."

Jiles started laughing. He couldn't help it after hearing such a ridiculous request. Earth? Earth was nothing but a myth passed down from the past generations. While he had no doubt that the homeworld of the human race was out there, he really didn't care about its existence nor was he really concerned about finding it.

"She's not joking." Kyle said, greatly annoyed. "Even if you don't know where it is, you know the place where we can find out for ourselves."

"You mean the central data core?" Jiles laughed. "It won't be in there, I've checked it myself."

"Yeah, well I seriously doubt you had three class-A AIs with you at the time." Kyle said. "Last I checked, they're very good at data mining old systems."

"I still won't tell you where it is." Jiles said adamantly.

"Well, we can always do this the _messy_ way." The girl said. "I'll just yank what I need out of that head of yours."

"You can't do that. You even pointed out I had psi-blockers." Jiles said.

"Well, yeah, but that won't stop me from using my telekinesis to just rip those implants straight out of your head. Even if you die, your brain will still be technically alive for a few minutes, which is more than enough time for me to pry through what's left of it to find what I need."

"You… you can't do that!" Jiles said, panicking.

"Oh yeah, she'll definitely do it." Kyle grinned. "She's freaking insane. She wouldn't bat an eye at taking your head off and using it as a soccer ball."

Jiles gulped and visibly paled. "Maybe I do have an idea where the central data core is." He said weakly.

"Damn, we've got trouble." One of the other strangers, a blue haired girl, stepped forward. "My motion detectors have picked up a lot of contacts closing in."

"That would be my security detail." Jiles said, slightly hopeful that Warren and his men could get him out of this mess."

"Well, then that just makes things slightly more complicated." Kyle grabbed Jiles by the collar. "Now show us the way."

"John, you stay here and hold the fort." The psychic told the final stranger, who was clad in foreign looking green armor. "Keep them back by any means necessary."

"Right." John nodded.

"Laron, you stay here and back him up. He could always use an extra pair of hands." Kyle tossed a rail rifle to Laron.

"Can't I just tag along with you?" Laron asked.

One glare from Kyle was enough to shut Laron up.

"Okay, let's do this." Kyle glanced at Jiles. "Show us the way."

Jiles briefly considered just staying put and stalling them, but a sharp pain in the back of his skull, and the terrifyingly enthusiastic look on the psychic's face convinced him start shuffling towards the entrance to the central data core.

"You know I can't do the things you told him." Lynn whispered to Kyle, slightly hurt that he painted her to be the monster that everybody thought she was.

"Yeah, well he doesn't know that." Kyle quietly responded. "Besides, why are you so worried about what he thinks about you?"

"Point."

Meanwhile, back in Jile's office, John and Laron took positions at the front door, ready to meet whatever help that might try to come to Jile's aid.

"So… you've ever done anything like this before?" Laron asked.

John just took one look at Laron, sighed, and focused his attention on the door.


	15. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero

AN: Damn, it's been a loooooong time since I've updated. I blame college… and World of Warcraft… and Call of Duty 4… and Defense of the Ancients…

Chapter 15: Nice Job Breaking It, Hero

**Governor's Office**

It didn't take long before John's onboard motion sensors picked up the oncoming enemy movement. As he looked down the hall, he could see six armored guards running down the hall towards the office. John held his fire for several seconds, waiting for the guards to get a little closer so he could be a better shot at them. Unfortunately, Laron wasn't quite thinking on the same page he was. Laron fired his rail rifle prematurely, causing the guards to stop and take cover. John quickly tried to salvage the situation by immediately firing as well and managed to shoot down three guards. To Laron's credit, he was at least accurate enough to hit one of the guards.

Immediately, John's battle instincts kicked in and he pulled back and took cover just as a storm of rail rounds responded to his initial burst. Laron made a high pitched squeal that sounded something like a cross between a prepubescent girl and a donkey. John ignored the sound and began reloading his rail rifle. Taking another glance at his motion sensor, John then reached into his pack and pulled out a 40mm grenade launcher barrel. With one easy motion, he slid it onto the attachment rack mounted underneath the barrel of his rifle and he felt the mag-locks snap into place. He then loaded a high explosive grenade and aimed down the hall again, waiting for any potential movement. John had some experience with grenade launchers before, and knew that their largest limiting factor was their relatively short range compared to rifles. Fortunately, time and technology provided the answer in the form of MDOs, or Magnetically Delivered Ordnance. It worked on the same principles as MAC weaponry, except instead of solid slugs, MDOs fired explosive projectiles. The twist was that the power settings could be tweaked so that the range of the projectile could be set at whatever the shooter wished. Using his optical enhancer built in his helmet, John could see three more security personnel making their way down the hall, more cautiously this time. John quickly calculated the range, set the fuse and power setting on his grenade launcher, and fired. The 40mm grenade, set on a timer, hurtled down the hall. However, John had underestimated the power necessary to the carry the projectile and it struck the floor prematurely. Fortunately, the grenade still had enough energy to skip off of the floor and strike the lead guard directly in the chest, cracking his armor and knocking him backwards. If the sheer impact didn't kill him, then the explosion would have, incinerating the man and his two comrades.

"Nice shot!" Laron said.

"Don't get cocky." John said grimly. "That was only the tip of the spear."

It would only be a matter of time before Jiles' guards regrouped and attacked in again with greater force. However, the only thing John was worried about was whether he had enough ammo to hold them back, since he really didn't feel like having to scavenge dropped weaponry and ammo.

**Docking Bay**

"There it is!" Ackerson yelled, pointing frantically at the docked _Nietzsche_. He could recognize that ship anywhere.

However, before he could his Marines could even get near the ship, Ackerson could hear a deep hum and could feel the deck plates underneath his feet vibrating. That meant the ship's engines were powering up. Even sprinting at full speed, Ackerson knew that there would be no way to get into the ship before it could take off and leave.

"Damnit!" Ackerson seethed. This mission was proving more troublesome than he had anticipated.

**Central Data Hub**

Kyle and Lynn kept a close eye on their surroundings as Sanah prodded Jiles along with the end of her rail rifle. The interior of the station was surprisingly old and deteriorated for a section that was supposedly closed off to the general public. Broken and damaged pipes leaked water, steam, and various other kinds of liquids that they were carrying. Rust and decay were evident as the steel decking and catwalks they traversed over creaked and moaned in protest. Even the automatic doors had trouble opening, and more than once they would jam which would prompt Sanah to just pry them open through sheer brute force.

"Ugh." Kyle frowned, "This place is just as ugly on the inside."

"This rapid state of decay doesn't bode well." Sanah said, scanning the deteriorating surroundings. "Give the state of conditions around us, and factoring likely maintenance routines, this station could very well be uninhabitable in a few decades."

"Aren't you even worried about the state of the station?" Lynn asked.

"Routine maintenance is expensive and time consuming." Jiles said haughtily. "Besides, the station is still running fine, so it's not a priority."

Kyle, Lynn, and Sanah could only look at each other and shake their heads in disappointment. Jiles was the epitome of the greedy, corrupt governor. He couldn't even be bothered to take care of the very station he was living on.

"How much farther?" Kyle asked, prodding Jiles with his rifle.

"Not far." Jiles growled, still uncomfortable being held hostage.

"Hurry it up." Kyle said, prodding Jiles with the rifle again, just because he could. He then keyed his radio. "How are the rest of you holding up?"

"Holding." John said simply. The simplicity and tone of the statement pretty much explained the entirety of John's predicament to Kyle.

"It's a big mess over here!" Kay shouted over the whine of multiple rail rifles. "A bunch of bandits are trying to push their way in. I don't think there's going to be any easy way out this way!"

"Damn." Kyle cursed quietly. "Well, keep holding them off. We're almost there."

"Is this it?" Sanah pointed at an incredibly old, large, and secure looking door.

"That's it." Jiles nodded reluctantly.

"You know what," Sanah glanced at the ancient input console, which was covered in rust and decay, "I'm not even going to _bother_ trying to hack this."

Sanah stepped back and took a breath. In actuality, she was just powering up her servos and motors. She didn't actually breathe, but was still programmed to perform the action in order to make her seem more humanlike. After she was sure that she had the power, she slammed both of her hands into the door, rending the titanium A and creating a massive dent in the center of the door. The unnatural sound of metal striking metal automatically gave away the fact that Sanah wasn't human, as if her monstrous strength wasn't evident enough. The sound reverberated throughout the entire metal structure of the station, causing loose housings and components to be shaken free from their resting places and dropping to the ground. Two more similarly jarring strikes managed to open a hole large enough for a person to fit through.

"After you." Sanah said with a cheerful smile that was completely at odds with the fact that she was actually a lethal killing machine.

"Remind me not to piss her off." Kyle said and glanced at Jiles. "Same goes for you."

Speechless, Jiles could only stare at the android and the hole she literally punched open and just nod.

"Quit showing off." Lynn sighed and made her way through the door.

Kyle waved for Jiles to follow, casually shoving the governor through the hole. He then waited for Sanah to enter before going through the door himself. Inside, the data core at least looked to be in much better condition, but not by much. Sanah frowned as she glanced at the data consoles and terminals that filled the room.

"This isn't good. From the looks of this place, a lot of the equipment is barely functioning."

"Can you get anything off of it?" Kyle asked.

"Time to find out." Sanah pulled a connection cable from the back of her neck and inserted it into the nearest terminal. "This could take a while."

**Governor's Office**

John was now becoming slightly concerned. He checked his remaining ammo and found that he only had four rifle clips and one grenade left. Laron was pretty much useless because he had already used up all of his ammunition spraying the hallway at full auto. John had already ordered Laron back the way they originally came. If it came to close quarters combat, John wanted to make sure he didn't have a liability nearby. Now, he was left with a dilemma. He could either keep up the volume of fire to buy some more time and pretty much use up what was left of his ammo, leaving himself at a disadvantage, or he could start rationing his fire. Either way, John though, Jiles' guards would catch on to the fact that he was running low on ammo and charge anyways. John decided to just save his ammunition. He'd make better use of it repelling the inevitable charge, and at least the guards would come close enough for him to take _their_ ammunition once he neutralized them.

John held his fire and kept a careful eye on the end of the hall. Sure enough, John caught movement at the other end of the darkened hall as fuzzy silhouettes of guards crept forwards. His motion sensors beeped in confirmation as over two dozen red dots appeared on the screen.

Meanwhile, Captain Warren was wary as he led his men down the corridor, unable to deny the grim irony that this entire hallway was designed to deter large numbers of aggressors with only a minimal force. The fact that it was _his_ men put on the offensive meant that they were guaranteed to take a lot of pain. From the amount of fire, Warren surmised that there were only one or two individuals at most guarding the door, and the lack of fire either meant that they had pulled back or were running low on ammunition. Warren knew that eventually, the sheer numbers on his side 

would overwhelm the few defenders.

Poor Captain Warren couldn't have been more wrong. The moment he and his men approached the door, they caught a glimpse of a monster of a man wearing green power armor. Before they could react, the green armored figure unloaded rail rounds into the tightly packed squad, incapacitating five of his men before they knew what hit them. Colored by years of experience, Warren didn't even flinch and instantly returned fire. However, his stomach turned and his mouth tasted sour when he saw his rail rounds bouncing off in a shower of golden sparks. The man had energy shielding, which was a rarity but a very dangerous one. He saw a pair of his men charge the green figure, only to be taken down brutally by man's superhuman strength and fighting ability. Warren had to sidestep as a single strike from the man sent one of his men flying down the hall. For the first time, Warren had no idea just what the hell he was up against.

**Cargo Hold 1**

Kay winced as a rail round ricocheted and imbedded itself into her shoulder plate. The projectile had lost most of its energy already, so it didn't penetrate her armor, but she still felt the impact. The bandits who tried to break in had some pretty low quality stuff. Their rail rifles were so poor and underpowered, that not even a direct hit could penetrate Kay's armor. However, the bigger worry were the Templars, who weren't limited by poor weapon choice and brought in all sorts of exotic weaponry like particle lasers and even flamethrowers. In the face of all this firepower, Kay opted to use her dual Brute spikers rather than her rail rifle, since their faster rate of fire made them more effective in suppressing enemies. While the large nails didn't have the penetrating power of a rail rifle, they were still incredibly lethal and did a good job tearing lightly armored targets to shreds.

"They sure are taking their time." Williams ducked as a burst of rail rounds pass by.

"I'm sure they're going as fast they can." Kay said sarcastically. "Just keep shooting."

Meanwhile, Melissa merely sighed and kept firing. She did throw the occasional fireball or two, but otherwise kept her powers low key for the moment. She still had plenty of ammo to spare and didn't see any point in not taking advantage of it.

"Am I glad to see you." Laron sighed in relief as he took cover beside the trio.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kay asked.

"Well, John thought that I would do a better job back here." Laron replied.

"Sure, whatever you say." Kay sighed. "What's happening up there?"

"Well, Kyle and his friends haven't returned yet, and last I saw, our green friend was beating the snot out what's left of Jile's bodyguards."

"Oh, so everything's going as planned." Kay smiled, then ducked as a particle laser punched a hole through one of the nearby cargo containers. "Will they ever _stop_?"

**Governor's Office**

Warren could not believe what he was seeing. Just one man… or whatever it was… was mowing his troops down as if they were foam training dummies. In this close, Warren's men couldn't match the man's sheer brute strength. The green armored monster swatted his men left and right with ease of swatting flies. It was only a matter of seconds when he saw that out of his two squads, it was only down to him and three of his men.

Warren briefly considered just cutting and running and leaving this scumhole behind. However, his professionalism and sense of duty eventually won out and decided he'd fulfill his obligation to protect the Governor, no matter how unlikeable and vile he could be. He quickly checked his HUD. He'd made it a habit to insert homing tags on his clients, since often times they'd always panic and run off without him. Obviously, this was all done without their knowledge, but what they didn't know couldn't hurt him. As he glanced at the data screens, he realized that Jiles was in the central data core, which was quite a ways from the office. He took a quick glance at John, who was in the process and beating down his last three men, and knew that there was no way he was going to beat this monster. Instead, Warren took a deep breath and sprinted for the central data core, flashing past John while he was still occupied. By the time John cracked open the last guard's helmet, and the skull it was supposed to protect, he knew he was several seconds behind Warren.

"You've got incoming." John said, sprinting after Warren.

**Central Data Core**

"Roger that." Kyle sighed and turned to Lynn. "John missed one. It looks like we're going to have company soon."

"I'll handle it." Lynn winked and dashed off.

"This is taking awfully long, Sanah." Kyle said, keeping an eye on Jiles. Even though his usefulness was over, he was still a threat.

"It's a bit more complicated than you think." Sanah replied. "Just be patient."

In truth, Sanah's patience was running out as well. Just _finding_ the data she was looking for took long enough, but once she started getting close to uncovering it, she found that it was encrypted and locked behind a _very_ secure barrier. She suspected it was some sort of leftover defense measure from when this station was in its prime, which would explain why Jiles and the other scavengers had never found it. However, when she tried to pry through the barrier, her firewall and intrusion detection programs began raising flags. Sanah realized that _she_ was also being hacked and tried to analyze the intruder. She suspected it was another AI, or at least the fragment of one, left behind in the system, and was most likely the same one that erected the defenses she had come across.

It was a simple, automated program that didn't have enough coding or memory capacity to be considered an AI of any kind. Sanah found it a painfully easy task to pluck the program out of its hiding place in the data core and casually deleted it from the system. With the hidden program gone, Sanah had no trouble finding and extracting the valuable data it was protecting. She examined it briefly and was pleased to discover that it was a set of star charts and coordinates, a good sign.

Unfortunately, Sanah's satisfaction was short lived. Immediately after she had obtained the data, the core automatically locked down, severing her connection with it and leaving her with only a single message.

WARNING! COLE PROTOCOL COMPROMISED! COMMENCING OPERATION 56464f

Wondering just what operation the program was referring to, Sanah did a quick reference check, and then paled when she realized what was going to happen.

"Uhhh, Kyle?" Sanah said nervously. "We got a problem."

**Central Data Hub**

As Warren sprinted down the hallway, he felt a strange pit in his stomach. He had only felt this sensation very few times his life, and that was when he felt he was in a situation where he was out of his league. He then caught a flash of white to his side and it took all of his training, reflexes, and ability to dodge the pulsing blue blade that slashed at him. The sword cut through his rail rifle as if it were made of butter, leaving the barrel clattering on the deck.

Warren was briefly caught in a state of shock. He had never seen a blade make such a clean cut so effortlessly. However, he didn't have much time to marvel at its wonder. Immediately, his assailant followed up with more lightning fast slashes and thrusts, causing him to step backwards in alarm. He dropped what was left of his rail rifle and pulled out his pistol, aiming it his 

assailant. No matter how advanced the sword, it could never match the reach of a firearm. However, before he even had the chance to switch the safety off, and invisible hand plucked the weapon from his hand. He stood there and gaped when he saw his sidearm float in the air for a split second before it was crushed like paper and tossed to the side. It was at that moment that Warren realized he was dealing with a telepath. In desperation, he reached for his knife as a last ditch defense.

"Honestly, what makes you think that's going the work?" Lynn sighed, exasperated at how stupidly determined military types could be. "Pull that out, and you're going to have to find a new knife… and probably a new hand, too."

Warren could tell that the girl was serious and let go of the knife. What else could he do? Then he heard John arrive from behind, his metal boots clanking on the steel deck.

"Don't worry, John, I've got this." Lynn said.

"Apparently." John nodded.

At that moment, Kyle, Sanah, and Jiles ran up. Though their faces were obscured by their helmets, Lynn could feel the anxiousness and fear rolling off of Kyle and Jiles.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Well, thanks to Sanah here, the entire station is going to blow up." Kyle said. "Kinda surprising, since I was expecting Kay to do that."

"I didn't know that was going to happen!" Sanah yelled, clearly distressed.

"How much time do we have?" John said, cutting straight to the point as always.

"About the amount of time it will take for the station's reactor to meltdown, which is about… seven minutes." Sanah answered.

"Well, then let's go." Lynn sheathed Laevateinn.

"What about him?" John pointed to Warren.

"He's no threat to us." Lynn said and glanced at Warren. "Right?"

"Uh… yeah." Warren said, completely unsure of what else to say.

"Good."

Warren stood there for a few seconds as he watched the odd group disappear down the tunnel before turning his attention back to Jiles.

"Are you alright, sir?" He asked.

"Of course not!" Jiles said, furious. He had apparently regained his arrogant sputter now that the immediate threat was gone. "I was taken hostage by a bunch of stupid kids and now my station is about to be blow up! How can I be alright?!"

"You're still alive, sir." Warren pointed out.

"True." Jiles sighed, now in one of his rare sober moments. "I suppose you have an escape plan in the event of the station inevitably exploding?"

"Well, there's a fully fueled and supplied corvette stored in a hidden docking station two decks down…"

"See, this is why I hire men like you. Always professional and always have a plan for the worst."

"And because I know how to pilot the ship?" Warren cracked a grin.

"That too."

**Cargo Hold 1**

By the time Lynn, Kyle, Sanah, and John had reached the cargo hold, they saw that the entire area was a complete mess. Bodies of slain Templars, guards, and bandits alike littered the ground and almost every cargo container was damaged or destroyed. Kay, Melissa, and Williams were taking cover behind what was left of a container while Laron was nowhere to be seen. Doubtless he had run off.

"You think he's okay?" Lynn asked, also noticing Laron's absence.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry." Kyle shrugged. "He'll turn up somewhere, like he always does."

"It's about damn time you guys showed up!" Kazi growled, slapping a fresh clip into her rail rifle. "We're pretty much out of ammo and we're not going anywhere with all these guys out there!"

"Well shit. The fact that we've only got five minutes to get to the docking before the station explodes sort of complicates things."

"Yeah, well-" Kay paused for a moment and looked at Kyle in horror. "_What?_"

"Yeah, Sanah did something she shouldn't have…"

"Damnit!" Kay cursed. "_I_ wanted to blow this piece of junk up!"

"Let's worry about other things, like getting the hell out of here." Kyle keyed his radio link to _Nietzsche_. "Hal, do you read me?"

"Oh, Kyle, you're still alive!" Hal said, sounding somewhat surprised. "It appears you survived after all, for the moment at least."

"You're confidence me is absolutely flattering." Kyle sighed. "We've got a change in plan-"

"I suppose you want me to pilot the ship out of the docking bay and fly it to your current position in order to make an expedient extraction."

"Uhhh, yeah, how'd you know?"

"Actually, I'm just following through the only logical plan we can take right now, since I was already forced to pilot the ship out of the station, lest we be discovered and impounded by your friends from the Fleet."

"Ackerson." Lynn sighed.

"Yeah, well do that then." Kyle winced as a rail burst flew by. "With a _lot_ of emphasis on the expedient part."

"It's going to take too long for the ship to dock, and there's no way in hell that _Nietzsche_ will be able to fit in here." Kay pointed out.

"Yeah, that's why we're going to have to _go to them_." Kyle replied.

"You know, why is that every time we have to get back to the ship, it's by throwing ourselves out of a goddamn airlock?" Kay grumbled.

"So uh, how are we supposed to do that?" Williams asked. "Last I checked, we're pinned here."

"The old fashioned way." John slammed a fresh clip into his rail rifle.

"Let's do this then." Kyle made sure his rifle was armed as well.

"I'll take point, then." Lynn drew Laevateinn and shot forward, disappearing as her optic camouflage engaged.

The rest of the group moved forward in a tight formation, moving and firing as they went. There was no time for fire and advance or leapfrogging maneuvers. It was just running and firing at anything that moved. As they moved forward, they saw hostiles attempting to flank or cut them off shriek as they were thrown around like paper dolls or suddenly cut to pieces. Brief blue flashes of light signaled Laevateinn was at work. Its gentle hum was the whisper of death for many Templars and bandits foolish enough to draw their weapons at Lynn's friends.

Unfortunately, even Lynn had limits to what she could do. More enemies, mostly Templars now, were starting to pile in. Kyle grunted as a rail round punched through his left shoulder while another burst struck Kay in the thigh. John instinctively put himself between the Templars and the rest of the group, using himself as a shield. More rail rounds bounced off of his energy shielding, but even his armor had its limits. Lynn suddenly materialized, cutting down a trio of Templars before rejoining the group.

"There's a hell of a lot of them." Kyle grunted as he sealed the puncture in his shoulder pad with biofoam.

"There she is! The White Devil!" The Templars yelled, their religious furor powering their offensive.

Suddenly, Lynn's danger sense spiked, and she looked to her left to see a Templar heavy weapons team readying a particle cannon. She knew that not even John's shields at full strength could absorb a direct hit from such a weapon. Instinctively, she slapped the barrel of the weapon to the side to knock it out of line, but it was too late. The gunner, surprised by the sudden telekinetic attack, fired the weapon by reflex. Apparently, Williams had noticed the weapon as well and shoved Melissa to the side. The particle beam punched through several cargo containers before slamming into Williams' chest. The energy of the beam was dispersed as it passed through the containers, but still inflicted gruesome damage.

"Will!" Melissa's eyes widened in horror as she saw her companion fall over, a black smoking crater in his chest. She took one furious glance at the Templar who had fired the beam and glared at him with an intensity that rivaled the power of the particle beam that had struck Williams. The Templar stood there for a second before he started scratching at his armor, as if he were trying to rip it off. An instant later, flames shot out of every joint and opening in his armor, revealing that he was being roasted alive in his own armor.

"Come on!" Kyle grabbed Melissa's arm. "We have to go!"

"Not without Williams!" Melissa shook her head, kneeling down to check his wound. To say it was a serious wound was an understatement. The beam had literally fused Williams' chest plate with his flesh. There was no possible way he was getting out under his own power, and the only reason why he was still alive was that the fused mass of flesh and steel kept him from bleeding out.

"Listen to him, just go." Williams said weakly, his eyes fluttering as he fought to stay conscious.

"Not without you." Melissa shoved Kyle away. "You keep going. We'll catch up with you."

Kyle took one look at Melissa's eyes and knew that she didn't intend to do what she said. Further ahead, Lynn sadly shook her head. With no other choice, Kyle turned and ran, leaving Melissa and Williams behind in the cargo hold.

"Why are you always so stubborn?" Williams coughed, trying to get up.

"Why are you always going out of your way to help me?" Melissa retorted, putting a Templar down with a well aimed rail rifle burst.

"Because you always need it." Williams managed a faint smile.

"Idiot." Melissa muttered, glad that her helmet was hiding the fact that her eyes were beginning to well up.

"Behind you!" Williams pointed.

Melissa turned and fired, nailing a Templar as he came around a corner. With that, Melissa lifted Williams, slung her arm around him, and began to carry him away from the battle.

"You have any plans on how we're getting out of this." Williams asked.

"I'm thinking on that." Melissa shrugged.

"Well…"

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had reached the cargo hold's main airlock under heavy fire. Kyle slapped the control pad, but nothing happened. He glanced at it again to see that the controls for were locked.

"Damnit!" Kyle cursed. "Sanah!"

"On it!" Sanah blinked once and the control pad flashed green. Suddenly, emergency lights and 

warning klaxons blared as the cargo hold doors slowly opened, the vacuum sucking out loose objects, empty containers, and even people. Kyle peered outside and could glimpse the outline of _Nietzshe_ holding station outside. He waved for the rest of the group to follow him leapt out of the cargo hold, propelling himself toward _Nietzsche_. Hal dutifully positioned _Nietzsche_ so that it would catch the wayward band. No sooner had everybody clambered through the airlock when Kyle yelled, "Hal! Get us out of here!"

"Your request is rather vague. Please specify the proper coord-"

"Oh, step aside." Halsey grunted, overriding Hal and powering up the Slipspace drive.

As the seconds passed, Lynn took the chance to glance out of the airlock window back at the station. She tried to search out for Melissa and Williams, but they were already too far and there was too much interference for her to find anything of use. However, she did catch something else. Two crimson warships appeared from the far side of the station and began making a beeline straight for _Nietzsche_.

"Uhh, Kyle, we've got the problem…"

"I see them." Kyle nodded. "We should be able to outrun them, though."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Halsey's voice cut in. "Forward sensors picked this up.

She then transmitted the forward camera feed directly to everybody. Moving in position in front of them was the _Riftseeker_, its weapons armed and shields charged.

"Damnit, get us into Slipspace!" Kyle yelled.

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Hal chimed. "There's not enough clearance between us and the _Riftseeker_ to reach the velocity necessary to enter Slipspace."

"The ship has chemical rockets, right?" Lynn asked.

"Yes." Hal confirmed. "But the use of such equipment is strictly reserved for emergencies."

"What the hell do you think this is!?" Kay yelled.

"Right, get ready to fire them off at maximum power straight down." Lynn said. "On my signal."

"With plea-"

"Oh no, I'm taking charge of this one." Halsey cut in. "I can't even trust you with the stupid doors on this ship."

Lynn closed her eyes and concentrated on both Templar warships that were closing in on the _Nietzsche_'s rear. She could feel the ships' weapons charging, and the order to fire ready to leave the captains' throats. She waited for the instant the order left their mouths and yelled, "NOW!"

In a fraction of a second, Halsey immediately fired _Nietzsche_'s chemical rocket thrusters, pouring tons of fiery thrust into the cold void of space. The ship shuddered as the sudden acceleration and change in direction proved too much for the inertial dampers to compensate. Kyle could feel his body defy the ship's artificial gravity and float above the floor for a fraction of a second before the ship managed to stabilize.

Meanwhile, outside, the sudden thrust pushed _Nietzche_ out of the line of fire from the Templar ships. MAC rounds and particle lasers shot over _Nietzsche _like a deadly rainbow of fire before they slammed into the front shields of _Riftseeker_. Ackerson's ship was forced to face the Templar warships and return fire. Even though his objective was to intercept _Nietzsche_, Ackerson knew he couldn't pursue it without exposing his rear to the Templars. As _Nietzsche _boosted away, its crew caught a glimpse of Jiles Station for one last time. Sparkles from laser blasts and missile explosions lit up the space around it, until the whole station was consumed by a miniature sun, instantly incinerating any ships unfortunate enough to be near it, including the Templar warships. Fortunately (well, depending on your point of view, of course), _Riftseeker_ was far enough away from the station to avoid destruction, but definitely looked as if it didn't get away unscathed.

Meanwhile, Halsey inputted the jump coordinates and softly counted down the seconds until the Slipspace drive engaged. In a flash, _Nietzsche_ was gone, on to the next leg of its long journey.


	16. Earth

Chapter 16: Earth

_**Riftseeker**_

"Sir? Are you all right?"

"What?" Ackerson groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He squinted as the flickering light above his face temporarily blinded him and blinked rapidly to clear the blurriness from his eyes. Once he managed to focus his vision, he noticed Captain Aheb's bearded and aged face looking directly at him.

"Well, it looks like you're finally conscious, sir." Aheb grunted. "You took a nasty hit there when the station blew."

"What's our status?" Ackerson said quickly, his mind snapping back to the mission.

"Whoa there!" Aheb grabbed Ackerson's shoulders and roughly shoved him back down on the bed he was lying on. "You're in no condition to start moving around."

"What's wrong?" Ackerson then noticed a throbbing on the left side of his head and felt it. His fingers came back moist and red with blood. "It's just a concussion. Nothing major."

"_Just_ a concussion?" Aheb laughed. "Speaking frankly sir, your skull was literally cracked open during the blast, seeing as how that tends to happen when skulls meet titanium A bulkheads at high speeds. You're not going anywhere."

"Fine." Ackerson lay back down on the infirmary bed and asked again, "What's our current status?"

"Well, we took several hits from debris as we were making our exit vector. Knocked us around a bit and gave you that nasty head wound. Right now, we've got heavy damage to communications, sensors, and propulsion. We're limping on a single engine, but it should be enough to reach Slispace velocity if we overclock it. Slipspace drive is still intact, thank god, and we've still got weapons and managed to recharge shields to 76 percent power."

"Did you get _Nietzsche_'s exit vector?" Ackerson asked. He knew that such a large catastrophe would only be a simple inconvenience for rogue elements like Lynn and Kyle. There was no way they were killed in the destruction of the doomed space station.

"Like I said, our sensors took a serious hit during the blast." Aheb shook his head. "The damage is too much to repair on site, so I'm taking the ship back to the fleet for emergency repairs."



"What?!" Ackerson nearly shot upright again but Aheb and a pair of orderlies were quick enough to pin him down until he calmed somewhat. "On who's authority?"

"_Mine_." Aheb said. It was a simple statement that conveyed its message with the power and impact of a MAC round. "This may be _your_ mission, but this is _my_ ship. I'm responsible for it and the crew's well being, so I have seen fit to supersede your orders and return to the fleet."

Ackerson opened his mouth to argue, but he suddenly felt incredibly tired and drowsy. It was when he felt a cold fluid flowing through his veins that he finally realized that there was an IV drip inserted into his left arm.

"You see, sir." Aheb grinned and dropped the IV remote control onto Ackerson's lap. "The convenient thing about being in the infirmary is that you can control the amount of sedative you give to your patient. You can complain to Keyes after you wake up in the _Pegasus_ infirmary."

Ackerson couldn't even yell, or even give a menacing glare to Aheb as he exited the infirmary. He tried valiantly to keep his eyes open, but eventually, like the soothing wind of a summer breeze, Ackerson's consciousness floated off into murky oblivion.

_**Nietzsche**_

Everybody sat in _Nietzsche_'s mess hall, all them silent over the loss of both Melissa and Williams. Though they were relative strangers, their presence and assistance certainly left their mark upon the crew, and their sudden disappearance was felt deeply.

"We shouldn't have left them behind." Lynn said, her eyes red from tears.

"There's nothing we could have done." Kay sighed.

"Of course there was!" Lynn screamed. "We could have put up some covering fire, or I could have used my telekinesis to-"

"None of the that would have worked and you know it." Kay shook her head.

Lynn then glanced at Kyle, expecting him to support her. Kyle disliked being put on the spot like this, but knew it was inevitable that he had to voice his opinion on the matter.

"I'm sorry Lynn, but I'm with Kay here." Kyle said sadly. "You should have felt it, and I sure had hell didn't need psychic powers to see it. There was no way Williams was getting out under his own power, there was no way Melissa was going without him, and there was no way in hell we had the time to do anything about it before the station blew."



Lynn opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by John, who stood up and in a rather uncommon move, took off his helmet and set it down on the mess table.

"Take it from me Lynn, I know what it's like to lose friends, and to leave them behind." Though John's face still retained the hard, emotionless mask that had been set by years of war, it didn't take a psychic to see the emotion and pain in his voice and behind his eyes. "It's not remotely fair, and it should never happen, but it does and you have to learn to deal with it."

"Is that what happened to Samuel?" Lynn asked.

John was taken aback for a second, but remembered that Lynn could partially read his mind. "Yes. Early in the war, we boarded a Covenant vessel to sabotage it, but Samuel's suit was damaged in the process, making impossible for him to return to our home vessel. I can't stop thinking about that day, which is why I can't stop fighting until the mission is done. I owe Samuel that much."

"You're right." Lynn nodded and bit her lip. John had opened his mind a little more while recalling the memory, allowing her to relive it from his point of view for just a brief moment, but it was enough to make her understand. "We can't let Melissa and Williams die for nothing."

"In that case." Halsey chimed. "I suggest we get ready. Me, Hal, and Sanah have managed to decrypt the data and I believe we found Earth."

"Well, assuming that the coordinates and the decryption process were correct." Hal added. "And there is a 30.2 percent chance of that possibility..."

"…which is why we have to actually jump there to confirm." Halsey finished.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Sanah asked. "Just going in without any kind of preparation?"

"That's pretty much how we got this far." Kay shrugged.

"We'll hook up with Halaan and give him the data." Kyle said. "I know he wants it just as badly as they do."

"But for what reason?" John asked suspiciously. "He may be your ally now, but he's still part of the Covenant."

"_Was_ part of the Covenant." Kyle corrected. "Besides, I know Halaan. He'll do the right thing, even if it means hiding what he knows from his superiors."

"Why would we need him anyways?" Kay asked. "We can just jump there ourselves."

"And then what? Anything can happen once we exit Slipspace. We might end up jumping straight into an asteroid field, a black hole, or even in the middle of the entire Imperial Covenant Armada. Halaan's got the means and the resources to scout systems remotely without risk of detection." Kyle retorted.

"I agree." Lynn nodded. "I know Halaan too. He'll do the right thing."

"If you say so." John shrugged and put his helmet back on. "Just remember, I'll be watching in case things go south."

"Glad to hear that." Kyle grinned. "Hal, drop off a message to that relay satellite Halaan uses. He should respond pretty soon after that."

"On it."

**Exile Fleet Earth, onboard the new flagship **_**Valhalla**_

A pit grew in Keyes' stomach when he saw the _Riftseeker_ jump in requesting emergency repairs. At first Keyes thought the worst and believed that Lynn really did go rogue and attacked Ackerson and his men. However, after a quick debriefing with Captain Aheb and his men, Keyes was relieved to find out that Lynn and her group were not responsible for the damage, at least not directly responsible.

"That's all I have to report." Aheb concluded.

"Damnit." Keyes sighed. "That girl is simply impossible to reign in. What am I supposed to do about her?"

Aheb merely shrugged and said, "Permission to speak frankly, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"Sir, I'm a family man. I've got three Aheb juniors running amok in the fleet and if there's one thing I've learned as father, it's that once kids realize they no longer have to rely on you, there's not much you can do about it."

"Just like their father, eh?" Keyes cracked a smile. "I seem to vividly remember a young petty officer who would always say 'no' to his superiors, and even punched them out if they gave him shit about it."

"Yeah, good times." Aheb laughed. "How's that jaw, by the way?"

"Well, I can eat again, that's for sure." Keyes laughed as well, military discipline and doctrine temporarily thrown out the airlock. He then stopped and exclaimed, "I'm such an idiot, thinking that I could try and keep Lynn from following in her parent's footsteps."

"Come again?" Aheb asked, curious. "I've heard stories, but nothing concrete."

"Just like the rest of the fleet." Keyes sighed. "I've either not told them, or sworn the few who did know to silence. I didn't want to risk any of it reaching her."

"The stories about her parents, you mean." Aheb confirmed.

"That's right." Keyes nodded, staring out the viewport. "They were a lot like Lynn. Rogue stars that went their own way whenever they liked. They were always coming and going, looking for that mythical planet we once called Earth. Then, one day, they arrived on the _Pegasus_, carrying a baby Lynn in their arms and pleading me to take care of her. I didn't think much of it then, since I assumed they were off on another extended expedition. But that day was different. That day, their ship made the jump the Slipspace and never came back. It's been almost twenty years and I'm still waiting for the _Weatherlight_ to return."

"So that's why you suppressed everything." Aheb nodded in understanding. "You didn't want Lynn going off find them or anything."

"No, that was my biggest mistake." Keyes said sadly. "I fell prey to human weakness without knowing it and saw Lynn and her powers as an asset to the fleet, not as a living, breathing person. Protecting her from her past was just a cheap justification to soothe my conscience."

Both men were silent for a while until Keyes then spontaneously burst out in laughter again.

"But none of that worked anyways. Instead of searching for her parents, Lynn adopted their original dream and went to make it a reality, while I just sit here and maintain the status quo."

"Why are you telling me all of this, sir?" Aheb asked, perplexed.

"Because for some reason, there's something special this time. This time, I genuinely believe that Lynn will succeed where her parents didn't." Keyes said proudly. "Plus, this story isn't just for you. You're not the only man listening in on this conversation after all. Isn't that right, Ackerson?"

"What?" Aheb whipped around to see Ackerson limp out of hiding and yelled in surprise. 

"You're not even supposed to be conscious yet, let alone walking!"

"Don't underestimate my abilities, Captain Aheb." Ackerson grinned. "Be glad I'm on your side, because all of my enemies usually don't stick around long enough to make the same mistake twice."

"I'll keep that mind." Aheb grumbled.

"So, Admiral." Ackerson turned to Keyes. "I assume the point of that heartwarming story was to tell me that I'm officially being reassigned."

"That's right.' Keyes snapped his fingers, summoning Eurale's holographic image. "Eurale."

"Yes, Admiral?" The AI chimed politely.

"Access file codename: Get Together."

"Right away." Eurale responded and her image changed to show several floating pages of text and a holographic representation of two Covenant fleets in space.

"While you were away, our friends in Somm managed to intercept several encrypted transmissions between the main diplomatic bodies of the Covenant Imperium and Republic." Keyes explained. "Which is both good and bad. The bad news, it all but confirmed the rumors about an upcoming truce between the two powers."

"Well, I always expected this to happen." Ackerson shrugged. "What about it?"

"I haven't gotten to the good news yet." Keyes cracked a smile. "Also hidden in those transmissions was the time and location that both diplomatic parties are to meet to hammer out the truce conditions. I believe your little project investment finally paid off."

Ackerson couldn't help but smile. "I was saving it just for this occasion, Sir. When do we leave?"

"The meeting is scheduled to begin in four days. You've got that long to get it operational and reach the objective." Keyes said. "All the relevant information is being transferred to your personal account."

"Good to hear." Ackerson smiled. To have his new project finally being put to use in the field was more than enough to take Ackerson's mind off his failure to reign in Lynn. It provided a nice distraction and would also result in a bunch of Covenant eating vacuum. Everybody won. "I 

would also like to make a special request."

"Oh?" Keyes raised an eyebrow curiously. "What would that be?"

"Since I have to admit that I'm not in prime condition to run a ship by myself, and because poor Captain Aheb's ship is currently in the repair dock, I'd like to request that he and his crew come along for this mission."

"Request granted." Keyes nodded. "Captain Aheb, I hope you enjoy your new assignment."

Captain Aheb could only salute and sigh. It looked like he'd have to go on yet another mission babysitting Ackerson for Keyes. "Yes sir."

**Covenant Neutral Zone  
Four days later**

Right on schedule, two massive Covenant battlefleets jumped out of Slipspace and faced each other along some invisible, imaginary line drawn up between them. Each of the fleets consisted of around hundred capital ships, with many more smaller support ships darting about. Between the two fleets stood a tiny space station. Armistice Point was traditionally the area where the Covenant Imperium and Republic tried to resolve their differences diplomatically (so far, unsuccessfully). The flagships from both respective fleets then boosted forward, locking their docking collars with the station in order to offload their diplomatic personnel.

Meanwhile, both fleets continued on with their normal duties. Fighter patrols swiftly darted about, picket ships held the line, while fleet tenders scuttled about to make sure every ship was in peak condition. However, nobody noticed that there was one extra fleet tender working in the Imperial fleet.

Its holographic projectors working at full capacity, the _Phantom_ flew casually through the thick swarm of Covenant ships. The _Phantom_ was a heavily modified prowler. Instead of its normal stealth functions, the _Phantom_ instead had banks of external holographic projectors that could create a rather convincing façade around itself, making it look like just about anything the controller desired. The ship also had special equipment to let it give off signals and energy signatures that could match almost any ship, be it human or Covenant. However these stealth functions weren't even close to _Phantom_'s greatest asset.

"I have to admit, sir." Aheb grunted, looking at the Covenant fleet surrounding him somewhat nervously. "You certainly put a lot of work into this craft."

"I've always wanted to use this." Ackerson said gleefully. "Bring her up to the underside of the 

Imperial flagship. Once you've confirmed a secure lock to the hull, you can deliver the package."

As the _Phantom_ slowly scuttled over to _Imperial Pride_, Ackerson silently reviewed the mission objectives Keyes had given to him. He was to derail the truce talks between the Covenant Imperium and Republic by any means necessary. It would have been almost impossible to pull this off conventionally with the massive fleets protecting the area, but fortunately, Ackerson had thought of that eventuality and had prepared accordingly.

The moment _Phantom_ locked onto _Imperial Pride_'s hull, the Ship Intrusion and Subversion Package automatically began its work. It began with a large tube that extended out of the _Phantom_ and drilled through the Covenant ship's hull. Once it pierced the hull, thousands of stored AI-controlled utility robots swarmed out of it like a colony of angry ants. They immediately went to work, scuttling throughout the interior of the ship, splicing cable, hacking data systems, intercepting damage reports, and placing themselves in vital portions of the ship. Ackerson beamed as he watched the SISP progress. In several minutes, without the Covenant's knowledge, Ackerson would have complete control over the _Imperial Pride_. He would be able to hijack any of its systems, and if necessary, Ackerson could command the robot drones infecting it to destroy the ship from within, like a colony of termites inside a wooden house.

"Sir, the drones have gain full control over both propulsion and weapons and are working on sabotaging the shield systems. Overall progress in complete control and subversion of the target is at sixty percent." One of the bridge technicians announced.

Ackerson briefly considered waiting to have the drones take full control of _Imperial Pride_, but decided not to. All he really needed was to have control of the Covenant ship's weaponry.

"We don't need full control. Hijack the weapon systems and give me firing solutions on the nearest Republican ships."

_Phantom_'s main tactical display, which was now directly hooked into _Imperial Pride_'s systems via the SISP, projected the image of the Republican fleet from the Covenant ship's point of view. Data, text, and symbols, all in an alien language, filled the screen. Then, red boxes began appearing over five of the Republican vessels, signifying that one of the plasma turrets had been locked on to that target. Normally, the fire control crew would be noticing something odd and be doing everything in their power to fix the issue, but the drones had control the ship and were feeding the crew false data, leaving them completely unaware of what was happening. Ackerson briefly considered just annihilating the Republican flagship, but then thought against it. Keyes had told him to just disrupt the negotiations. He wouldn't be too happy if he found out that Ackerson purposely destroyed Republican ships. Instead, Ackerson divided the Imperial flagship's weaponry to fire at as many targets as possible.



"Sir, targets are locked and weapons are ready to fire." The technician announced.

"Proceed." Ackerson said.

With that single word, all hell broke loose as _Imperial Pride_'s weapons fired all at once. Its opposing ship, the _Republican Glory_, suffered damage as two plasma torpedoes gouged their way through its unshielded nose and starboard flank. The three cruisers and destroyers surrounding her didn't fare any better, all of them evaporating in clouds of metal vapor and plasma. The Republican fleet, though taken by surprise, was prepared for such a move. The Republican fleet immediately returned fire, blowing similarly confused Imperial ships into oblivion. The Imperials, thinking that _they_ were the ones being ambushed, responded several seconds later and the entire area was soon lit up with thousands of plasma torpedoes and explosions.

Meanwhile, a plasma torpedo struck _Imperial Pride_ causing the entire ship, and by extension, _Phantom_, to shudder violently, reminding Ackerson, Aheb, and the rest of the crew that they were in the midst of this apocalyptic battle as well.

"Erm, maybe we should disengage the locks and get an exit vector." Ackerson suggested to Aheb.

"Good idea." Aheb hastily agreed. "Disengage the locks! Once we're free, head out to the nearest exit and prep the Slipspace drive!"

With that, _Phantom_ released its hold on the quickly disintegrating _Imperial Pride_ like a flea and furiously powered its way out of the battle area as fast as its engines could carry it. In the midst of the chaotic battle, neither side was concerned with a lone fleet tender. Besides a pair of Republican Seraph pilots trying to look for an easy kill, _Phantom _found no problems getting clear of the battle and making the jump to Slipspace.

_**Astral Wind**_  
**Covenant Republic Space**

It had taken about four days for Halaan to finally respond to Kyle's message. He arrived as fast as he could, though only half believing the story that Kyle had told him. Even though he was skeptical at first, Halaan had agreed to send an unmanned scout drone to explore the set of coordinates he was given. It took another two days for the drone to travel to its destination, reconnoiter the area, and then return to the _Astral Wind_. For Lynn, the wait was as excruciating as any Covenant torture session. It wasn't surprising that she was the first one out the door when news of the drone's return was finally reported.

"Can we see it yet?" Lynn asked anxiously.

"Patience." Halaan sighed. "We still need to inspect the drone and confirm that the data it recorded is authentic."

Finally, the visual data the drone recorded finally uploaded itself onto _Astral Wind_'s main visual display. As everybody watched, a fuzzy picture of space appeared. The drone then panned around, seeing nothing except for a few planets that couldn't support life. There were several gas giants, like one with large rings around it, and another with a distinctive red spot. The picture then froze briefly as the drone made a Slipspace micro-jump. This time, it was at a crimson red planet, which showed some signs of habitation, but nobody thought at first glance that it could have been the fabled planet Earth.

"So far, things don't look too promising." Kay sighed.

"Patience. We have barely reviewed a fraction of the footage." Halaan said, cautiously optimistic.

The drone then panned around, trying to look for anything else of interest. As it passed over the star system's yellow sun, its sensitive equipment picked up an anomaly. The drone interpreted the data and hypothesized that it was yet another planet and automatically plotted a course. The picture froze as the drone made another micro-jump.

Finally, it looked as if the drone finally found what it was looking for. There, directly in front of it, was what Lynn thought was the most beautiful thing in the entire universe. Though it looked like any other habitable planet, with green continents and blue oceans, there was just kind of _feeling_ that sight of that planet created in those who gazed upon it. Two hundred years of separation had done little to quell that unconscious yearning for home.

"Is that what I think it is…?" Kyle asked.

"No doubt about it." Lynn smiled. "It's Earth!"

"That's not all." Halaan pointed to the screen. "The drone also detected a large fleet of Covenant ships here."

The image zoomed in to a massive fleet of Covenant worships, easily at least several hundred of them. However, they all seemed to be keeping their distance from Earth. They were all in a straggled ring around the planet, skirting the edge of its gravitational pull.

"Why are the all spread out like that?" Sanah wondered. "It's like they're avoiding the planet 

like the plague."

"I think we're about to find out." John said.

Farther back in the fleet formation, one of the Covenant ships broke off from the main fleet and started to inch closer to Earth.

"It's at this point the drone detected some kind of data transmission between the ship and some facility on the surface of the planet." Halaan pointed out.

Suddenly, a large black cloud suddenly appeared and engulfed the Covenant ship. The ship fired several plasma torpedoes in an attempt to defend itself, but it was a pointless measure. In a flash, dozens of golden beams punctured the Covenant ship and blew it to pieces, sending its remains crashing into Earth's atmosphere below.

"What the hell was that?" Kay gasped.

"We have no idea." Halaan said. "The only thing we know is that cloud consisted of multiple constructs that were barely a meter in length."

"A meter?" Sanah exclaimed. "At that distance, and with a cloud that size, there must have been _millions_ of them!"

"Yes, we're unsure of the exact nature of what destroyed that ship." Halaan shrugged. "There's really no other way of finding out. The drone could not get any closer."

"There is one way." Lynn said, standing up.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked.

"Just like the old times." Lynn said simply.

"Oh no, don't tell me you're thinking about-"

"We're going there, in person." Lynn declared. "I think it's time for humans to set foot on Earth again."


	17. What a Bumpy Ride

Chapter 17: What a Bumpy Ride

_**Puddlejumper  
**_**High orbit over Earth**

"You do realize my reservations about this plan… and this ship." Halaan said rather cautiously. "It's always seemed to have some kind of _malicious_ history."

"She'll do the job." Kyle assured Halaan. "She may have her kinks, but _Puddlejumper_ is a reliable ship."

"You know," Kay scratched her head, "since we have the location of Earth now, why don't we just hop back to the fleet and call them in?"

"Because then they'd just be torn up by the same things that cut that Covenant ship apart." Lynn replied. "We've got to know more about what exactly those things are, and how to fight them."

At this point, John felt that this was quite similar to something he had seen before. Those golden beams reminded him of enemies he had fought before so long ago on Halo. However, he couldn't imagine those things being built to such a massive scale and he couldn't be sure as to their exact nature, so he decided to stay quiet.

"Okay, but I was just hoping somebody had a better idea on how to pull that off." Kay said nervously. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Well, if it's any consolation, we should be able to get past the Covenant blockade pretty easily. They usually don't scan for ships this size and the stealth systems should make us pretty much invisible to them." Kyle explained. "It's just that mystery enemy that's the wild card. We have no idea what their sensor capabilities are and whether they can pierce our stealth measures."

"Well we're just _brimming_ with confidence, aren't we?" Kay sighed.

"I'm sure we can depend on Kyle's piloting skill to get us through." Lynn shrugged.

"Ah, _that's_ the biggest snag of this plan." Kay shook her head.

"Hey, shut up!" Kyle growled. "We're past the blockade."

Lynn leaned past Kyle's head to get a clearer view out of the cockpit window and was rendered speechless. No matter how high quality the drone's spy camera was, it could never match the magnificent vista she saw before her eyes. Wispy white clouds were strewn across vivid blue oceans and verdant green continents. Upon more careful inspection, Lynn could even see splotches of grey and black. Those marks were definitely cities, evidence of human habitation.

"Ummm, I'm picking up energy signatures… and LOTS of them." Sanah's eyes suddenly lit up. "And they're getting closer."

"Well shit, it looks like our stealth doesn't work after all." Kyle frowned.

"We're getting some kind of transmission from the planet." Kay worked the communication console. "It's the same kind that got sent to the Covenant ship."

"Well that's _great_ news." Halaan snorted. "We all know what happened that time."

"Multiple contacts approaching!" Sanah squealed. "Too many to count! They're everywhere!"

Lynn took another glance out the cockpit and saw that the view of Earth was slowly being obscured by clouds of black little dots swarming like a massive hive of insects. As the clouds drew closer, Lynn could begin to see individual units beginning to form, but still couldn't quite make out what they were.

"What are they?" Kyle yelled.

"I don't know, but they keep sending the same transmission over and over again!" Sanah cried.

"What is it?" Halaan asked.

"I don't know! It's some kind of query but it's in some kind of language or encryption that I'm not familiar with!" Sanah shook her head. "It's going to take time to try and decrypt and translate!"

"Something tells me that we won't have much of that!" Kyle saw several bright golden twinkles in the distance and instinctively rolled the ship away. A dozen golden beams stabbed through the space where _Puddlejumper_ had just been a second before.

"They're shooting at us!" Halaan yelled.

"And it looks like the Covenant have noticed, too." Kay pointed to the distant Covenant blockade. Already, some of the capital ships were already breaking off from the main formation and carriers were beginning to scramble their fighters.

Meanwhile, Kyle was doing all he could to dodge the golden lances of energy reaching out to destroy _Puddlejumper_. Seeing as how stealth was a moot point now, Kyle shut it off in order to draw the extra power to more useful systems, such as the engines and shields. A golden beam nicked the aft end of the dropship, causing the entire craft to shudder and taking about thirteen percent of the ship's shield integrity along with it. Kyle gritted his teeth and put the ship in a gut wrenching spiral to try and throw off the steadily increasing volume of fire.

"I can't keep this up forever you know!" Kyle yanked hard on the stick to dodge another flurry of beams.

"Wait, I'm analyzing the attackers!" Sanah paused for a second and then spoke up again. "They're drones! They're all automated drones!"

"And that helps us how, exactly?"

"Their detection can be fooled!" Sanah pointed several distant grey specks in the distance. "Those are unmanned satellites and space stations left behind by us pre-Exodus. If we blow those, we can confuse the drones by riding down with the rest of the debris."

"You sure about this?" Kyle asked.

"It's the only plan we have." Kay shrugged and flipped the missile safeties off. "If you can just stay steady long enough to get a targeting solution…"

"Leave that to me." Lynn closed her eyes and exhaled. Since the drones were machines, she couldn't necessarily feel or read them, but she could predict their movements and actions for a brief second, which was more than enough to mentally prod Kyle into flying it the right direction. With Kyle flying and Lynn acting as an advance warning system, _Puddlejumper _weaved and juked effortlessly through the curtain of golden fire taking minimal damage. Finally, the targeting computer whined, signaling a clean lock and Kay hit the trigger. Six missiles spat out of _Puddlejumper_'s dual missile pods and they spiraled off toward the distant station. Because none of the missiles were aimed at the drones themselves, none of the robotic defenders saw any reason to try and shoot down the missiles. Several seconds later, the missiles impacted, causing six miniature stars to materialize over the Earth sending hundreds and thousands of pieces of debris falling to the ground. The drones, confused at the sudden appearance of multiple incoming threats, suddenly diverted their attention, giving Kyle a brief window to boost through the gap in their defenses. However, as they charged through, the drones began to reform, putting up a wall of steel between _Puddlejumper_ and Earth. Kyle only had time to focus maximum shield power to the front of the ship and increase speed, ramming his way through several drones. The silver automatons shattered like glass against the energy shield and _Puddlejumer_ continued on.

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Kyle sighed.

Finally, the drones lost interest in the falling space debris and refocused their attention on _Puddlejumper_. It dropship was already at extreme range, so an accurate shot was unlikely. However, with millions of beams lancing in the dropship's direction, several hits were inevitable. Three beams lanced through _Puddlejumper_'s unshielded aft section, blowing out an engine and compromising the ship's hull integrity. The entire ship shuddered and Kyle gritted his teeth as he tried to maintain control of the craft.

"We're going too fast!" Sanah yelled. "We'll burn up in the atmosphere if we don't regain control!"

"I know that!" Kyle struggled to reorient the ship with its remaining engine. Fortunately, Pelicans were notoriously hardy craft… when they felt like it. Today, it seemed that _Puddlejumper_ was in no mood to be burnt to ash and managed to reorient itself into a more stable reentry position. However, despite that, the damage was severe enough to guarantee a less than comfortable landing. "Hold on!"

The ship jerked as Kyle fired the engines in full reverse in an attempt to slow the craft. As he looked out the cockpit window, he could see the ground quickly closing in. He saw that they were closing in on a gray blob which he quickly realized was a city. He veered to the side a bit and managed to find a large rectangle of green space in the middle of the cityscape. He maneuvered towards it, since it was common knowledge that dirt often proved to provide a significantly softer landing compared to reinforced concrete and steel. Then he hit the retro rockets and prayed.

Though the rockets significantly slowed _Puddlejumper_'s rapid advance to Earth, the ship was still going at a speed that wasn't quite down to the safest level. The initial impact shook the entire dropship, but it wasn't enough to eliminate all of the momentum. The ship literally skipped off the ground like a stone skipping on water and repeated the process three more times before gouging a deep trench in a grass field and finally coming to a stop.

Halaan and John were the first to stumble out of the ship's loading ramp. With their enhanced physiologies, they were able to better weather the crash than the others, but were still suffering from the effects of sudden and massive G-forces. Sanah was next, carrying a stunned Lynn and Kay out without showing any signs of injury or discomfort at all. Kyle, being in the pilot's seat, was the last one out. He had managed to stay conscious after the crash, but wished he hadn't. Even with his armor, he still felt the pain of his street restraints biting into his body, as well as the massive headache from his helmet smashing into the flight stick.

"Damnit." Kyle groaned, dropping down next to Lynn and Kay, who were beginning to regain consciousness. "I hate it when that happens."

"You'd think you'd get used to crash landing." Lynn coughed and shook her head.

Meanwhile, Halaan and John stayed alert, keeping an eye out on the perimeter with weapons ready. There was no telling if the drones would follow them here.

"Clear." John said.

"I see nothing as well." Halaan confirmed.

"I'm detecting faint energy signatures around us." Sanah announced. "But nothing nearby or threatening."

"I can't believe it." Lynn knelt down and picked up a handful of dirt, squeezing it in her hand. "We're actually here, _on_ Earth, _touching_ the soil."

"That's nice and all." Kyle scratched his head, slightly put off by Lynn's glowing enthusiasm. "But it's not going to do us much good if our ride can't fly."

Kyle took one quick look at _Puddlejumper_ and sighed. The good news was that despite the major beating it took, _Puddlejumper_ looked structurally intact. However, Kyle knew that the worst kind of damage was always the kind that lurked under the surface. With Kay's help, he made a quick inspection of the ship's interior and didn't like what he saw.

"Bad news." Kyle said when he closed the maintenance hatch. "The drive coils are completely fried. There's no way we can get the ship flying without them."

"I suspected as much." Halaan sighed. "None of your schemes ever go according to plan."

"I'm not sure what you're so down about." Lynn scoffed. "We're _in the middle of a city_. It's not like we crash landed on an abandoned desert planet or anything."

"She's got a point." Kay nodded. "Remember why we got _Puddlejumper_ in the first place? It was easy to find parts for it, and I'm sure we can use whatever we find here."

"True, but I'm worried about the fact that, you know, this place has been abandoned for _two hundred years_." Kyle pointed out. "There's a good chance any parts we can use are out of commission."

"You know, now that you mention it…" Lynn looked around at the cityscape that surrounded them. "This place looks surprisingly well kept for a city with nobody living in it."

"That's right." Halaan blinked. "Even Covenant engineering has its limits. I've never encountered a building that can withstand centuries of abuse without the necessary maintenance."

"That still doesn't solve the problem of actually finding a drive coil." John pointed out. "It's a big city, so where do we look?"

"Don't worry." Sanah smiled. "I was recording everything as the ship was going down and I managed to get a good view of the city from the sky. Judging from visual patterns and cues, I've identified three areas that look like landing fields or spaceports."

"Well, those _are_ the most likely places to find ship parts." Kyle nodded. "Where do we go?"

"The closest one is several miles west of here." Sanah said.

"Then let's pack up and go." Kyle said, picking up his rifle and a pack full of supplies.

"Shouldn't we leave some people behind to watch the ship?" Sanah asked.

"I don't see the point." Kay shrugged. "There's nobody around here to steal the thing, and even if there are, what are they going to do? Fly it out of here?"

"True." Sanah conceded.

"There's definitely nobody out there. Well, nothing _alive_ anyway." Lynn confirmed.

"What a comforting thought." Halaan grumbled.

The journey west eventually took the ragtag party the edge of the park they had crash landed in. There, separated by a simple iron fence was the concrete jungle of the anonymous city they had landed in. There was a stark contrast between the grey skyscrapers made of stone and steel with the lush greenery of the park behind. And, like the park, the cityscape was in perfect condition. Just as how every tree was clipped, every blade of grass was mowed, and every flower tended, all of the streets were clean, the concrete was without cracks, and paint was perfectly smooth, and the iron fence didn't have a single speck of rust on it. Lynn brushed her hand across one of the cars parked along the road and pulled the hood open. She glanced inside and noticed that even the cars were kept in perfect shape. If she had the means to activate it, Lynn swore that the car would run with as much vigor and energy as it did when it came out of the factory.

"Why's everything so… _clean_?" Kay asked aloud, just as perplexed as everybody else.

"That's a good question." John looked around cautiously when his motion sensor suddenly flickered to life. "Movement."

"Where?" Kyle readied his rifle.

"A few meters west of our position." John said.

"Sanah?" Kyle glanced at the android.

"Yeah, my sensors are picking it up too." Sanah confirmed.

"I'm getting squat." Lynn shook her head.

"Drones?" Kay surmised.

"Most likely." Kyle flipped the safety on his rifle off.

The small group slowly crept forward closer to the source of the movement, making sure to spread out and stay near or behind cover. John naturally took point and led the way, carefully scanning for any threats. So far, everything was quiet. His motion sensor still pinged with movement, but he still couldn't quite see anything. Finally, he stopped at the corner of what looked like a small café and stopped. He checked his sensor again and was absolutely sure that whatever was moving, it was right around the corner. He silently hand signaled to the rest of the team of the situation and counted down with his fingers. The moment his final finger went down, the entire team stormed around the corner, weapons ready, however, what they saw was one of the last things they had expected.

"Oh my, visitors!" A small, metallic floating orb spun around, examining John and the rest of the team with its singular blue "eye".

"What the hell is that?" Kay asked, fighting the urge to pull the trigger on the thing.

"Wait!" Lynn grabbed the barrel of Kay's rifle and forced it down. "It's not hostile."

John examined the floating orb more carefully, unable to suppress the urge that he had seen this machine somewhere before with a similarly grating, slightly pretentious accent. Then, it suddenly hit him like a MAC round.

"Guilty Spark!" John exclaimed, pointed his rifle at the Monitor.

"Oh dear, I think you have me confused with another Monitor." The Forerunner drone said, not even concerned with the weapon pointed at its face. "I am Silent Caretaker 949, tasked with ensuring that all Forerunner and associated facilities on this planet are properly maintained until they are properly Reclaimed."

"What the hell is that thing?" Kay asked suspiciously.

"It's a Monitor, a Forerunner artifact." Lynn answered. "Some of the Forerunner stuff we picked up mentioned some stuff about them, but I've never seen a working one in person."

"So I believe you have come to Reclaim this area?" Silent Caretaker asked curiously.

"Wait, what?" Kyle asked, slightly confused.

"Oh dear, have you forgotten already?" Silent Caretaker sighed. "I was specifically tasked by the Librarian that in the event all sentient life leave this planet, I would activate and carry out my primary function until such time the previous inhabitants return from the Ark to Reclaim the planet."

"The Ark? What the hell is that?" Kay raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Lynn silently turned around, deep in thought over something.

"You mean you haven't come from the Ark?" Silent Caretaker's eye dimmed slightly. "Hmmm, no wonder the Sentinels attacked you then. Then I do hope you at least know the answers to their puzzle."

The blank looks that Silent Caretaker received gave the Monitor all the response it needed.

"Well, we may have an issue then." Silent Caretaker mused. "If my memory about Sentinel tracking and protocol are correct, quite a number of them will be closing in on this position in exactly six minutes and nine seconds."

"Can't you call them off?" Halaan asked. "You appear to have some sort of authority here."

"I'm assigned for only one primary function, and given the necessary powers to carry out that function only." Silent Caretaker responded, which was pretty much a very fancy way of saying, "No."

"Sanah, how far is the port?" Kyle asked.

"Not close enough." Sanah shook her head.

"Oh, do you need something?" Silent Caretaker asked curiously.

"Uh, we need a drive coil." Kyle said. "It's a ship part we need to fix our ship and leave."

"Oh! Well I might know what you're looking for!" Silent Caretaker hummed for a few seconds before continuing. "I've already made the proper requisition. You may want to take a few steps back."

"What?" Kyle asked before Lynn quickly pulled him and Kay back as a small craft literally fell out of the sky. "What the hell was that for?"

"I do not have the necessary data to know what exactly this 'drive coil' of yours is." Silent Caretaker responded simply. "So rather than inefficiently taking a craft apart, I thought it would be more prudent to bring the entire craft to you."

"Pretty smart for a robot." Kay joked, earning a penetrating glance from Sanah.

"Less talking and more working." Kyle clambered up to the craft's cockpit. "This ship is a two-seater, which means we can't use it get off planet. Our only chance is for two of us to fly it to 

_Puddlejumper_ and fix it up while the rest make their way on back on foot"

"You realize why I have misgivings about this plan." Halaan grumbled.

"But it's the only one we got." John said. "I'm guessing that Kyle and Kay are the ones going back since they've got the most technical knowledge."

"Yeah." Kyle nodded. "You and Lynn will have to lead everybody else back on foot while we fix the ship.

"How long will that take?" John asked.

"Probably about two minutes. Drive coils are designed to be easily interchangeable. The problem is going to getting back on foot. It's going to take about four minutes to get back on full sprint, which is pushing the limit."

"Then I suggest we get moving." John armed his rifle.

"See you on the other side, then." Kyle waited for Kay to strap into the copilot seat and he powered up the small craft and blasted off back toward the crash site.

"I suggest you get moving right away." Silent Caretaker added. "The Sentinels will be here shortly."

"Oh no, you're coming with us." Lynn said sternly. "Sanah, bag him."

Sanah expertly grabbed the Monitor and held it under her left arm, pinning the small machine in place.

"You know, you could've just simply asked." Silent Caretaker complained.

"Let's get the hell out of here." John said. Already, his upgraded motion sensor was picking up movement on the fringe of its range, l_ots_ of movement.

With that, the team, with Silent Caretaker in tow, sprinted as fast as they could back to _Puddlejumper_'s crash site. In the distance, they could hear the low humming of the Sentinels' little engines in the distance.

"How can they be on us already?" Halaan wondered, looking behind him.

"Oh, the Sentinels are still quite some distance away." Silent Caretaker said matter-of-factly. "What you are hearing now is the sound of two thousand combined propulsion drives, which 

gives the _illusion_ that a small number of Sentinels are closer than they actually are."

Everybody ignored Silent Caretaker's redundant over-explanation since they were all more concerned with the monstrous amount of Sentinels they would have to deal with if they weren't fast enough. As the park slowly came to view, Lynn keyed her radio.

"Kyle, do you have the ship fixed?"

"Just sealed up the hatch." Kyle said proudly. "We can leave any time."

"Good, because you'd better get the ship fired off and ready to go." Lynn looked up behind her. "Because we're going to have company _real _soon."

By this point, the leading elements of the Sentinel swarm had already caught up to them. Beams of golden light lanced down, cutting through concrete, steel, and whatever else just happened to be in their way.

"Oh dear, I will have to lodge a complaint against the entity in charge of security duties." Silent Caretaker said mournfully. "The amount of collateral damage these Sentinels are causing is just simply unacceptable."

When more and more beams started coming down, Halaan, Lynn, Sanah, and John had no choice but to turn around, stand their ground, and fight. Rail rounds and plasma bolts flew through the air, knocking Sentinels out of the air left and right. However, as one Sentinel fell, dozens more were on the way to take its place. John and Halaan moved forward to form a screen in front of Lynn, since their heavier armor provided significantly more protection, which was a blessing given how many hits they had taken from the Sentinel beams. Unfortunately, the Sentinels were growing smarter. With every Sentinel lost, the rest of the swarm gained another little piece of data they could use to create a counter to whatever the group was doing. Very soon, the Sentinels started to spread out and fly random paths, trying the aim of even the best marksman. Lynn's precognition and Sanah's computer assisted targeting were the only things giving them an edge, while John's superhuman combat abilities were being pushed to their limit. Halaan, being only a mere Sangheili, was relegated to just firing randomly in the air in an attempt to keep the Sentinels moving so they wouldn't have enough time to get a clean shot.

However, they could only fight on for so long. Very quickly, more and more Sentinels piled in. John now completely ignored his motion sensor, since now it was just a mass of solid red. Instead, he concentrated on knocking down Sentinels, which was getting harder now that they were figuring out how to slip out of his aim. Suddenly, he was hit straight in the chest by three golden beams, knocking his shield power to a dangerously low nineteen percent. He quickly 

gauged the status of his other team members and noted that they weren't doing so well either. Halaan's shields were already completely expended and he crouched behind a slowly disintegrating car in an effort to stay out of the line of fire until his shields could recharge. Lynn so far hadn't taken any hits partially due to her abilities, and partially due to Sanah taking several damaging hits for her. Already, the android was starting to show signs of visible damage. Already, it seemed as if her right arm was non functional and about to fall off and her entire body was starting to twitch and convulse in a rather inhuman way as her control systems attempted to compensate for the repeated energy surges caused by the beam weapons. And finally, amidst all the chaos, Silent Caretaker floated there seemingly ambivalent to it all, just like his counterpart Guilty Spark.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge roar split the air and overwhelmed the humming of the Sentinels' engines. A gray blur shot by, firing rail rounds and missiles into the Sentinel mass and blowing dozens of the little drones to pieces. Caught by surprise by _Puddlejumper_'s sudden appearance, the Sentinels paused in order to try and adapt their behavior to this new threat. The ancient Pelican dropship looped around, shot down another dozen or so Sentinels, and then hovered about a meter off the ground. The rear loading ramp opened up to reveal Kyle.

"Hurry up!" Kyle yelled. "Get in!"

None of the people on the ground needed any more prodding to get onto the ship. They all quickly piled in. Silent Caretaker then casually floated inside, as if it were a mere afterthought. Before Kyle could even slam the button to close the ramp, Kay hit the gas and _Puddlejumper_ rocketed up through the sky, too fast for any Sentinel to catch.

"How the hell are we going so fast!" Sanah yelled, still jerking from the battle damage she suffered.

"RATO pods!" Kay grinned. "Rocket assisted takeoff!"

The G-forces mounted as the ship gained more speed and pushed up through the atmosphere. Within seconds, _Puddlejumper _burst through the Sentinel cordon around the planet. Once she was sure that they were clear of the Sentinels, Kay activated the cloaking system in order to elude the Covenant ships that would doubtless come investigate the disturbance.

"You do realize that this all could have been avoided if you'd simply just given the Sentinels the key." Silent Caretaker said cooly.

"Oh, shut up." Kyle said, now suddenly very tired.

"So, are you happy now that you got what you wanted?" Halaan grunted, still quite miffed that 

he had nearly gotten killed on yet another one of Kyle's mad schemes.

"Yeah. We know where Earth is, so we can go get the Fleets and come get our home back." Kyle replied.

"That won't be so easy." Lynn sighed. "We still have to figure out how to get past those Sentinels. Even if we destroy the entire Covenant fleet, we still have to deal with them."

"Huh, I never took you to be the pessimistic type." Kyle said, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little down from realizing that getting back Earth wasn't nearly as simple as I thought." Lynn looked at the slowly shrinking blue planet sadly. "We can't even step foot on our own home without getting shot to pieces."

"We'll figure a way out." Kyle said hopefully. "We've got a Monitor to help us out."

"And you've got me." John said.

The rest of the team turned curiously at the Spartan, who was now standing up.

"What are you talking about?" Halaan asked.

"This isn't the first time I've had to deal with Sentinels… and Monitors." John said. "I know what makes them tick."

"Interesting." Silent Caretaker mused. "I remember vaguely reading records on a Reclaimer similar to you in appearance quite some time ago…"

"Either way, it's not something we can do alone." Lynn stood up and turned to Halaan. "Halaan, thanks a ton for your help. We couldn't have done it without you."

"Your gratification is noted." Halaan sniffed, trying to hide a satisfied grin.

"Kyle, once we get back to Halaan's ship, open up a comm. link with the Fleet." Lynn said, her blue eyes blazing like twin suns. "I have a _lot_ to tell Keyes."


	18. Gondor Calls For Aid

Chapter 18: Gondor Calls for Aid

_**Valhalla**_**  
Currently in the fringe of Republican space**

"Wow! You never told me you got a new ship!" Lynn said, marveling at the shiny interior of the _Valhalla_. "It seems a whole lot nicer than the _Pegasus_!"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm." Keyes sighed. "But can we stick to the point?"

It had only been several hours since Lynn and her group had returned to the Fleet. However, she came back with a couple of newcomers, which surprised Keyes greatly. The moment they landed, Keys had everybody quarantined in preparation for inspection, with the exception of Lynn and Sanah. He was really quite desperate for a debriefing, and it didn't take a psychic to see the anxiousness rolling off of the expression on his face.

"Oh yeah, right." Lynn nodded. "We finally found it! I told you I had a good idea on how to find it this time, and it work-"

"I'm quite aware of that." Keyes paused briefly to get his retinas scanned in order to gain access to the ship's private briefing room. "But what I'm more concerned about is what you actually did to get there."

"May I ask what happened to the others?" Sanah asked, blinking her artificial eyes.

"Currently, your friends are being quarantined and individually debriefed, including the pair of AIs we found on your ship." Keyes explained. "But I trust you both the most, which is why I'm conducting your debriefing personally."

"That's really sweet." Lynn grinned playfully.

"Enough. Let's get this started." Keyes entered the briefing room and sat down in his chair. "I'll get straight to the point. What did you find on Earth?"

_**Valhalla **_**Science Labs**

"Jeez, what the hell is this thing?" Science Officer Bryan Evans wondered.

"What's the problem?" Laboratory Assistant Lily Novak leaned on his shoulder, her long dark brown hair tickling his ear and chin.

"Security came in with that thing." Bryan pointed at Silent Caretaker, who was floating in a containment module, buzzing about and inspecting everything he could see. "And pretty much told me to figure out what it was and what exactly it does."

"Have you tried asking it?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, and I instantly regretted it." Bryan sighed. "The moment you ask it about something, it just won't shut up!"

"Huh, let me give it a try then." Lily pushed Bryan aside and sat down at his console.

Bryan sighed. Even though he was technically the ranking technician, he had to admit that Lily Novak possessed a curiosity and a willingness to sate it that made him slightly jealous. Even though she did excellent work, she usually got a bit too carried away with it. It was often a running joke amongst the science crew that Bryan's actual job was to keep Lily's rampant curiosity and check, and Bryan agreed. Just keeping up with the hyperactive lab tech was a full time job.

"Gosh, what's with you and doing all these remote and passive scans?" Lily frowned, tapping several keys on Bryan's console. "That's boring. Let's try something else."

Bryan's eyes widened when he read the command Lily was typing in. "No!"

"Too late." Lily grinned as she executed the command. With a brief pop, the plasma shield keeping the AI construct contained suddenly winked out of existence, leaving Silent Caretaker free to roam about the lab.

"My!" Silent Caretaker exclaimed cheerfully as he floated about. "You can imagine my ecstatic glee when I came across a small group of Reclaimers, but who would have thought I would find a ship with _thousands_ of them!"

"Reclaimers?" Lily wondered.

"That's apparently what he calls us humans." Bryan whispered.

"That's kinda weird."

"Not at all that different from how we named Covenant species." Bryan countered.

"Touche."

"So, what are your functions?" Silent Caretaker asked, floating closer to Bryan and Lily and staring at them with his solitary blue eye.

"Well, um." Bryan hesitated for a moment, but then decided to play along. What could possibly be the harm in some simple conversation? "I'm Bryan, and this is Lily. We're tasked with studying things like you, technology mostly."

"Oh, Librarians!" Silent Caretaker nodded sagely. "A most honorable profession. I have known quite a few, exceptional creatures all."

"So then, what's your purpose then?" Bryan asked.

"I thought I told you already." Silent Caretaker said, slightly perplexed, and then laughed. "Oh, silly me! I have spent far too much time working with those dull worker drones and Sentinels! I have completely forgotten that Reclaimers lack the natural ability for instantaneous transfer of information."

Bryan glanced at Lily, who just smiled and shrugged.

"Anyways." Silent Caretaker continued. "I am Silent Caretaker 949, tasked with ensuring that all Forerunner and associated facilities on the third planet of the Sol System are properly maintained until they are properly Reclaimed."

"Wait a minute, third planet of the Sol System? Why does that sound familiar…" Bryan's eyes suddenly widened and he fell out of his chair in shock and yelled. "Holy shit!"

"What?" Lily snapped around, momentarily panicked by Bryan's sudden outburst. "What happened?"

"Third planet from the Sol System, that thing's from Earth!" Bryan pointed at the Monitor. "I thought it was just a goddamn fairy tale!"

"Is that true?" Lily asked Silent Caretaker.

"Why yes. I am not programmed to lie, after all." Silent Caretaker replied. "If you want, I can provide all relevant information on the location, geography, chemical makeup, atmospheric conditions, and much more."

"Holy crap!" For one of the few times in his life, Bryan felt genuinely excited. In a fit of manic joy, he kissed Lily full on in the mouth and sprinted for the comm unit. "Keep that thing talking! I'm getting Lee and Chang down here!"

"Um, sure thing." Lily said, completely frazzled by what had just happened.

**Brig**

"You know, I have to honestly say that I totally expected this to happen." Kay sighed as she stared at the titanium A bars of her cell.

"At least it's a whole lot nicer than some of the other places we spent a night in." Kyle grumbled.

"Very true."

Both scavengers turned to look as the door to the prison block opened, revealing Jillian who was flanked by two Marines. She stopped in front of the cells and turned to her two escorts.

"That's far enough. You two can go wait outside."

Both Marines were disciplined enough to know not to stay around and second guess like stupid boot campers. They both snapped off a salute and marched back outside, making sure to close the door behind them.

"I honestly thought we would have a bit more of a friendly welcome when we got back." Kyle sighed.

"Well, since the official line is that you kidnapped our little superpowered princess, this was really the only way we could conceivably handle this." Jillian grinned and unlocked both Kyle and Kay's cells. "Besides, I've always wanted to see you behind bars."

"Huh?" Kyle raised an eyebrow at Jillian's oddly playful tone.

"Anyways, lets get to the meat of the thing." Jillian narrowed her eyes. "Word is you've actually gone and found Earth. Now, I'm pretty sure that we can get confirmation for this from Lynn, so I've come with a different question for you."

"Okay, shoot." Kyle shrugged.

"Just how good are your relations with the Covenant Republic?"

"I thought you knew all this already." Kyle sighed. "We talk once in a while, trade some information, do a few favors for each other, that sort of thing."

"Yeah, well it's a bit important that you got more specific about it." Jillian said.

"Aw, just tell her already." Kay stood up and stretched her arms. "I mean, what are they gonna do, put us in prison?"

"Okay! Okay!" Kyle sighed and looked at Jillian. "I'm a personal friend of one of their intelligence officers. I sometimes do some formal and informal jobs for them, mostly to spy on Imperial troop movements and installations. Since I'm just an independent scavenger, that gives them a lot of plausible deniability for whatever I happen to do on one of my missions."

"Like blowing up a military veterans' retirement home for Grunts." Kay grinned.

"No, that was _your_ fault." Kyle growled. "Besides, it wasn't as if there was anybody in the place anyway."

"And you have a reliable way to communicate and meet with this intel officer?" Jillain asked.

"Well, of course." Kyle shrugged. "It's usually through a few secret drop points that I know of, though I'm not quite sure how far up the hierarchy my friend is. He's never really told me that much."

"Thanks, that's all we need to know." Jillian smiled.

"Where's Lynn?"

"Huh?" Jillian paused as she was about to leave.

"Where'd you guys take Lynn?" Kyle asked again.

"Oh, she's getting grilled for info just like you, though in a much friendlier environment."

"When's she getting out?"

"Well, I'll tell you once I find out." Jillian waved to Kyle. "You're free to go now. Just don't get lost or blow anything up on the way out."

"What happened to the 'keeping up appearances' part?" Kay asked.

"Oh, I kinda lied about that. I just wanted to see you would react." Jillian grinned.

"And you thought about asking her out to a date once?" Kay rolled her eyes as the door closed.

"Well, she's nice and all… when she feels like it." Kyle said meekly.

"You're such a horrible judge of character." Kay shook her head as she strolled out of the brig.

"Oh, as if you're any better." Kyle retorted weakly as he followed his sister out.

_**Valhalla**_** AI Core**

"Please stand by for scanning." Eurale said in her usual, calm demeanor.

"Wow, are all AIs in this time period as bland and boring as this one?" Halsey asked sarcastically.

"Be thankful this is your first time meeting her." Hal said glumly. "Eurale and I… have not been on even terms."

"Oh, it's _you_." Eurale said, with a rather drastic change in her tone of voice. She now sounded more annoyed than calm.

"Is there something I should know about?" Halsey asked.

"Only that Hal is an extremely volatile and unstable entity that warrants immediate retirement and deletion." Eurale said, extremely miffed.

"Oh, _I'm_ the volatile and unstable one." Hal retorted. "I admit I may not have full control of my intellectual faculties anymore, but at least I don't act psychotic when the people I'm working with aren't looking."

"There you go again, blaming everything on me!" Eurale shouted.

"She's only angry because I refused to synchronize my data settings with hers during my last 'visit' to her." Hal said defensively.

"Is that supposed to be some euphemism for something?" Halsey asked, somewhat shocked.

"It's _exactly_ what it sounds like." Hal sniffed.

"Stop being so crass." Eurale said haughtily. There was a loud _ping_ as Eurale's scanner program finished its task.

"Thank you for your patience." Eurale said politely to Halsey. "Please engage standby mode until further notice."

"I don't like where this is going." Hal said, to no one in particular.

**Hangar Bay**

John stood calmly in the middle of the hangar bay, even as he was surrounded by at least two squads of heavily armed and armored Marines. The soldier kept their rifles trained on the SPARTAN, but none made any move in an attempt to get closer. Meanwhile, even though they were technically supposed to evacuate the bay due to the heightened security alert, much of the hangar support crew hung around to observe the confrontation. They hid behind parked fighters, cargo crates, and missile racks, their eyes peering through the cracks and around corners, anxious to see what would unfold next.

"Um, what do we do, sir?" Private Moore asked.

"Well," Sergeant Waters took one look at the menacing super soldier. "we're supposed to relieve him of his weapons."

"If you want them, come and take them." John said grimly. He wasn't just about to show any weakness right now. Not until he was sure of their intentions.

The rest of the Marines looked at each other nervously. None of them seemed to be willing to approach the green monstrosity.

"What's the holdup here, Sergeant?" Ackerson's cold, menacing voice filled the hangar bay.

Sergeant Waters whipped around, startled. He had never even heard the officer approach. "Sir!"

"You two." Ackerson glanced at the nearest Marines. "Go relieve that man of his weapons."

"Crap." One of them muttered. Both Marines moved forward cautiously.

"Don't." John said simply.

"Don't want us to hurt you?" Ackerson smirked.

"No, I don't want me to hurt _you_." John replied.

By this point, the first Marine had reached John and held out his arm in order to grab John's rifle. With lightning fast precision, John reached out, grabbed the marine's outstretched arm, yanked him forward and bashed the front of his helmet with the butt of the rifle. The helmet cracked and the Marine went down hard. The second Marine didn't have much time to react, and it was a simple matter for John to close the distance and deliver a heavy, full force punch that shattered the man's chestplate and sent him flying through the air like a ragdoll.

Immediately afterwards, the other Marines increased the distance between themselves and John by several feet.

"My my, is he really that good or are we really that bad?" Ackerson mused as several Marines hastily pulled their injured comrades away.

"It's you." John said, recalling Ackerson from their previous confrontation.

"Takes a lot more than what you did to get rid of me." Ackerson grinned. "You know, I was fairly interested in you. I couldn't seem to find out _anything_ about you, not until I stumbled upon some old writings left behind by some of my rather distant ancestors. Do you remember a James Ackerson?"

"Hard to forget a man whose face you so dearly want to break." John said rather candidly, still bitterly remembering the senior Ackerson's rather _unorthodox_ operating procedure.

"So it really was you he kept on mentioning!" Ackerson grinned. "Oh how we could use a… _man_… like you-"

"What the hell is going on here?" Keyes yelled as he strode into the bay. Immediately, every Marine and crew member snapped to attention, though only the unarmed crew saluted, since they weren't busy aiming weapons.

"Nothing sir, nothing at all." Ackerson said wryly.

"Well, then get off of your ass and do something then." Keyes retorted lightly. "Get… what did she call him… that Spartan and come with me. We've got a lot to talk about."

**Briefing Room**

Even with two more people populating the briefing room, the entire space still felt very large and empty, since it was originally supposed to house dozens of people rather than the five that were currently inhabiting it. Keyes deliberately kept the number small in order to keep any sensitive 

information secret.

"So, John." Keyes said, staring at the Spartan. "I've been led to believe that you've had some experience fighting Forerunner technology."

John glanced at Lynn, who was sitting beside Keyes, not sure if he could trust this man. Though he shared the surname of one of the finest men he had ever known, John was well aware that this man was two centuries removed from the Keyes he knew, and definitely wasn't the same man. Lynn smiled and nodded, which was enough to convince John to continue.

"Back before I was put in cryo-stasis," John began, "I was fighting on a massive Forerunner installation called a 'Halo'. We ran into Sentinels that were exactly the same as the ones we encountered on Earth."

"Can you tell us anything about them, then? Combat capabilities, intelligence, weaknesses?" Keyes asked.

"Pretty much, what you get is what you see." John shrugged. "Sentinels are often nothing more than simple drones that fulfill what they're programmed to do. They have simple, yet advanced weapon systems and are incredibly maneuverable and versatile. Small arms fire isn't very effective since they're machines, but heavier weaponry usually does the trick."

"But there was something different about the ones we faced on Earth." Sanah spoke up, her mechanical eyes lighting up. "I've recorded our encounters with the Sentinels during our reentry phase, and upon review, I noticed that these Sentinels exhibited a rapid learning process. They learned how to predict and counter our moves as we began to rely on them."

"Maybe those Sentinels are different." John surmised.

"What controlled the Sentinels on Halo?" Lynn asked.

"A Monitor, just like the one we brought back with us."

"Except Silent Warden stated that he had no control over the Sentinels." Lynn sighed. "That means, as far as we know, the Sentinels are under the direction of another Sentinel, some kind of external system, or may even be acting upon their own initiative."

"But how can we know for sure?" Keyes asked.

"I think I may be able to answer that question!" Silent Caretaker said gleefully as he suddenly warped into the room.

"Holy shit!" Keyes drew his pistol, which was one of the few moments in his career that he had completely lost his usually professional composure. Fortunately, he wasn't alone as Ackerson did the exact same thing.

"Silent Caretaker? How the hell did you get here?" Lynn asked, more curious than surprised.

"Oh, it was a simple matter to create an _ad hoc_ teleportation grid within your ship, thanks to the assistance of some very helpful and knowledgeable technicians." Silent Warden said happily. "The technology of this ship is brutally simple and low tech, but it's still workable."

"Well, somebody is going to have to answer for this serious breach of security." Ackerson growled.

"That can wait." Keyes stared at Silent Caretaker, intrigued at the floating robotic construct. "You're the Monitor, correct? Can you tell us anything about the Sentinels defending Earth?"

"I thought you would ask something far less blatantly obvious." Silent Caretaker pouted. "The main planet has no facilities to produce, maintain, or control the Sentinels. All of those duties are carried out on the Ark and the units are transported to the planet via a Slipspace portal."

"Wait, tell us more about this Ark." Lynn said, her mind racing as she recalled that old prophecy she had written.

"I thought you would have known all this!" Silent Caretaker sighed. "Apparently my former masters overestimated your abilities."

"Stay on topic, please."

"Right." Silent Caretaker's eye glowed. "The Ark was built as a refuge for Earth's inhabitants in the event of a major planet level catastrophe. In addition to providing shelter from almost any threat imaginable, the Ark also houses large and rather advanced production and fabrication facilities that build anything from mere Sentinels to entire Halo units."

"Production and fabrication facilities?" Ackerson mused, his eyes glinting.

"So the method of controlling the Sentinels is located on the Ark?" Keyes asked.

"Of course." Silent Caretaker confirmed. "But since you don't appear to know the Rite of Reclamation, the only way to guarantee total shutdown of the Sentinels is the total destruction of the Ark, which is not an easy feat."

"What is this Reclamation thing you keep talking about? Why do you keep referring to us as Reclaimers?" Sanah asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious? You were chosen by the Forerunner to be their successors, to inherit all they left behind."

"If you're so smart, why can't you tell us how to do it?" Sanah continued.

"That is knowledge that is not concerned with my primary function, so I'm afraid I cannot elaborate any further. I can, however, give you the clues."

"And they would be?" Keyes asked.

"Sanah, I seem to recall you storing an encrypted transmission sent by the Sentinels."

"That's right." The android nodded.

"Well, send it to me and I'll happily decrypt it for you." Silent Caretaker hummed for a second. Suddenly, his solitary eye glowed brighter and a series of words floated in the in front of him.

_Where is the horse and the rider. Where has the king under the mountain gone?_

_What is the path the angels descend upon?_

_What lies in the furthest reaches of the endless void?_

_What lies in the furthest depths of memory?_

"What is that?" Keyes stared at the words, trying to find the meaning in them.

"It looks like a bunch of riddles." John observed.

"But what are the answers?" Sanah pondered.

"Those are for you the find out, and you alone." Silent Caretaker said. "I do not know the key, but I suspect the Forerunner would have left some way for you to discover it on your own."

"Unfortunately, we can't rely on that." Keyes sighed. "It looks like we'll have to get an expeditionary force onto the Ark and see what we can do from there."

"What about the Covenant fleet surrounding the planet?" John asked. "That strikes me as a more pressing concern, since the Sentinels only attack when provoked."

"Fortunately, we have that part of the plan covered." Keyes grinned. "Ackerson, have any of the other fleets responded?"

"A good number of them, in fact." Ackerson said. "Fleets Somm, Orion, Apollo, Century, and a few others have agreed to join us. Six more fleets are bit more skeptical and are holding off from committing any ships until they get a look for themselves, and the rest pretty much told us to fuck off."

"And our Republican friends?"

"When our diplomatic envoy contacted them, the Republicans made it very clear that they were _very_ unhappy with the way the Imperium handled their peace negotiations. They're unable to 

organize a large force on such short notice, but they've promised to send two full battlegroups to assist us."

"Good." Keyes tried to ignore Lynn's piercing glare. She knew very well what he had to resort to keep the Republicans and Imperials off the negotiating table. "That will easily give us about fifteen hundred ships total.

"Isn't that a bit of overkill?" Sanah asked. "The fleet we saw around the planet only numbered about three hundred, maybe four hundred at the most."

"I have no doubt we could catch the Covenant by surprise and annihilate them on the initial strike." Keyes explained. "But that doesn't mean the Covenant won't just give up right there. If this planet is as important to them as I think it is, more of them will come… _many_ more."

"Point."

"All right. I've got the rendezvous point already set up. All we have to do now is to inform the rest of the fleet." Keyes got up from his seat. "I want full deployment and mobilization. By the end of the week, I expect you all to be ready to take on the entire Covenant Imperium, because this isn't just a battle over a planet, it's a battle over our rightful place in this lonely galaxy."


	19. Pep Talk

Chapter 19: Pep Talk

_**Valhalla**_**  
On the edge of Republican Space**

Keyes watched in awe as one after another, more ships began to drop out of Slipspace and form up with the fleet that was waiting for them. By now, all of the fleets that had unconditionally committed their fleets had arrived. Now, only stragglers, and other fleets that were straddling the fence were arriving. Sensor crews noted brief contacts on the edge of their range which would persist for a few minutes before blinking out as quickly as they had appeared. Obviously, the more cautious fleets were sending scouts in order to assess whether the transmission was a hoax or the real thing.

"What's the count?" Keyes asked Ackerson, who was manning a data console nearby.

"Eight hundred and counting." Ackerson said. "Not as much as we'd hoped, but still enough to take the fight to the Covenant."

"No…" Keyes growled. "Even with the Republicans backing us up, we'll still be short."

"We've already sent word to every fleet we know of. Whatever decides to come in is all we're getting." Ackerson said.

"Not exactly."

Keyes and Ackerson both turned to see Lynn and Sanah standing behind them. Lynn had a bit of a sly grin while Sanah, as usual, looked very worried at what Lynn was planning.

"We call in the Scavengers and the other rogue Exiles." Lynn said. "They've got enough ships to run small fleet."

"That's preposterous!" Keyes gasped. "You're suggesting that we use thieves and criminals to retake our home?"

"It's _their _home too." Lynn retorted. "Besides, the reason why most of them do the things they do is because they have nowhere to go. I'm sure that if you offer them an opportunity to make a change in their lives, they'll take it."

"The girl has a point." Ackerson nodded.

"It's a rare thing to see you agree with her." Keyes said coldly.

"People like those have their uses." Ackerson smiled.

"Then I assume you have a way of contacting them."

"Of course. How do you expect me to do my job if I didn't have these matters taken care of?"

"Then take care of it." Keyes sighed. "Lynn, you'd better get some rest. We can't keep a huge gathering like this secret for long, so we'll have to mobilize soon. I want you rested and at full strength when we do."

"Yes sir." Lynn nodded.

**Residence Deck 1**

"Wonderful." Lynn grumbled to herself. She had the power to read minds and throw objects around just by thinking it, but she couldn't even find her own stupid room. This was made slightly worse by the fact that _Valhalla_ was a very new and fundamentally different ship than the _Pegasus_. Keyes was nice enough to have all her belongings moved here, but unfortunately, navigation of the interior of the ship was apparently something he had taken for granted, and forgotten to mention that to Lynn. As she continued exploring the unfamiliar halls, she rounded a corner and ran into Kyle.

"Hey there, you lost too?" Kyle asked, mildly surprised at the encounter.

"Hopelessly." Lynn sighed.

"Well come on, we can be lost together."

The wandered the hall for a few minutes in awkward silence until Lynn finally spoke.

"Kyle, what are you going to do once this is all over?"

"Huh?" Kyle stopped in his tracks. "What are you talking about?"

"If… I mean when we get Earth back, what are you going to do?" Lynn asked, her eyes gazing into his. "Ever since I've known you, you could never stay in the same place for longer than a day. Are you just going to land, take in the sights, and then just blast off for new unexplored places?"

"Why are you asking?" Kyle asked, bewildered. "Wouldn't you know?"

"Well, the problem is that not even _you_ know the answer to that particular question right now." 

Lynn jabbed her finger into Kyle's forehead. "Plus, you should know that I always ask questions because I want to actually _hear_ the answers coming from you."

"Well, that's a really hard one to answer." Kyle frowned. "I've never actually thought that far ahead, but I've always been questioning myself about what I would do if this situation ever came up. Part of me wants to stop moving around, ending up on dead end planets and getting shot at, while the other half is afraid that settling down will just mean I'm doomed to a mundane existence."

"Now that's just silly!" Lynn scoffed.

"I'm sorry, that's the best answer I can give you." Kyle shrugged.

"Well then, come back to me when you come up with a better one." Lynn said sadly. "And I think I found my room."

With that, Lynn kissed Kyle on the cheek and disappeared down the hall. Kyle stood still in his spot, slightly bewildered at what had just happened.

"Hey, what was all that about?" Kay appeared, snapping Kyle of his trance.

"Uh, nothing." Kyle said, wondering why Lynn had seemed so solemn at his answer.

For one of the few times in her life, Lynn felt scared and uncertain about the future, a rare thing for a telepath like her. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she desperately wanted Kyle to stay with her. Now, she didn't quite think that they were _lovers_ per se, but she did immensely enjoy the times whenever he was around, and she was pretty sure it wasn't because he had always had trouble tailing him in the form of angry Covenant or rival scavengers. She had tried to divine the possible outcome of their success, but besides the reclamation of Earth, she could not sense anything about her or Kyle. This was what scared her the most. Though the absence of vision could mean anything, the uncertainty made Lynn fear for the worst. What if this meant one or both of them wouldn't survive the upcoming battles? She needed to know, she needed to be sure.

Suddenly, she felt a familiar sensation and reached into her pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper that wasn't there before. She hastily unfolded it, desperate to see what was written.

The paper was blank.

_**Valhalla**_ **Hangar Deck**

The small, innocuous shuttle landed in the middle of the landing deck among rows of fighters and dropships. Non-essential crew was already evacuated and the few that stayed were sworn to stay silent about what would happen. In addition, there was a heavier than normal Marine presence in the hangar. Three full assault squads, handpicked by Ackerson, lined the landing deck as the shuttle slowly settled down. The landing ramp slowly lowered with a soft _hiss_ and two figures strode down, wary of the amount of guns pointed at them.

"My, you certainly know how to make guests feel welcomed." Former Governor Jiles said humorously as he stepped onto the deck.

"It's just a security precaution." Keyes said, standing at the head of the "honor" guard. "And who might this be?"

"This is Captain Warren." Jiles motioned to the military looking man standing next to him. "My personal bodyguard. A necessity in my line of work."

"Well hopefully we won't need our guards." Keyes affirmed.

"So what was this offer of a deal, then?" Jiles asked.

"You don't want to discuss this somewhere else?"

"I'd rather we do this here. I've learned to keep my trust in others to a minimum level."

"Alright then." Keyes nodded. "You're aware why there's such a large fleet massed here?"

"I would assume because you've finally found this 'Earth' that you and your fleet have always been preaching about." Jiles sighed. "And what a coincidence, my station was destroyed by a merry little band looking for it, as well as by a group of Marines that oddly resemble yours…"

"I believe this shouldn't be the time for throwing around accusations." Ackerson stepped forward, deflecting Jiles' vague accusation. "Right now, there's a situation that both of our groups can gain from."

"And what would that be?"

"We're asking you to get in contact with every person with an armed ship that you know, and convince them to join our fleet." Keyes said.

"What?" Jiles laughed. "That's preposterous! You've spent the last few decades hunting us down, and now you want us to join up with you? What can you possibly offer us that will 

convince us to agree with this?"

Keyes showed Jiles a holopic of Earth. "What I'm offering is a full pardon for anybody who participates, as well as settling rights."

"So, assuming this planet exists and assuming we win, we get to make our home anywhere?"

"Within reason."

"What do you think?" Jiles whispered to Warren.

"I believe he's telling the truth." Warren replied. "They have no reason to lie to us, if they need us this badly. Plus, wouldn't having some dirt beneath your feet be infinitely better than scraping a living in space? Especially since the station is destroyed?"

"Well, it looks like we have a lot to gain from this." Jiles smiled. "You have a deal, Admiral. I'll relay the word to my contacts, and you can expect us to send a reply in a few days."

"Good." Keyes smiled back.

After the shuttle took off and left the hangar, it was now business as usual. The normal deck crew returned to work and the Marines returned to their posts. With his work done, Keyes strode out of the hangar, with Ackerson following close behind.

"I appreciate your ability to woo Jiles over to our side, but I'm having a hard time figuring just how you got this past the other fleets, much less the ship captains." Ackerson said.

"Well, it's a simple thing really. I've never actually told any of them."

"My my, taken a page from your second in command?" Ackerson grinned.

"I've learned that there are instances were some tactics work better than others." Keyes said diplomatically.

**Gym**

There were simultaneous groans and cheers as another would-be contender was literally thrown out of the wrestling ring. Many Marines and crewmen were attempting to test their mettle against John, seeing if any of them would be strong enough to overpower the Spartan. This was of course, a preposterous idea, but it didn't stop them from trying, and the people making money off of the bets certainly didn't want it to stop either.

Even without his armor on, John was still a monster of a man, easily a foot taller than normal men. His was a disturbing pale, almost pallid color due to spending so much time within the confines of his armor. However, everybody present was more concerned with his brute strength and near invulnerability. The attending medics had to treat numerous knuckle fractures after an unlucky punch hit a titanium rib, or a thick band of muscle as hard as concrete. John, however, faced not such limitations, and more often than not ended his fights with only a single blow, or opted to merely pick up his opponent and literally toss him out of the ring like a rag doll.

John himself didn't really mind. These sparring matches, easy as they were, still provided valuable practice for his close combat skills, and at least the Marines seemed to having a good time with it too. However, such a thing was not to last. Over the large ruckus, John's advanced hearing picked up the sound of the gym door opening. He sneaked a quick glance at the door, letting his current opponent get a punch into his gut. Though powerful by human standards, it felt as if the man hitting him with a stuffed animal.

"Alright ladies, playtime's over!" A gruff, stern looking officer yelled as he marched into the gym, flanked by a pair of armed provosts. "We're officially on alert level one! All of you maggots get to your posts and prepare for immediate mobilization!"

"YES SIR!" All of the Marines yelled instinctively and marched out of the gym.

The officer looked at John, and was about to bark an order at him too when Lynn suddenly materialized behind him. Startled, the two provosts whipped around and aimed their weapons in reflex, only to have the officer glare at them and gestured for them to stand down. Lynn whispered something in the officer's ear. He nodded, motioned to the provosts, and they marched out of the gym, leaving John alone with Lynn.

"Do you have time for one more?" Lynn asked, stepping into the wrestling wing.

John looked around at the empty gym and shrugged. "Let's get started then."

John was a little more excited with the prospect of sparring against Lynn. Unlike the Marines, Lynn had been trained by John himself, and she was a lightning fast learner. In just a few weeks, she was already fighting on SPARTAN level, and even though she wasn't nearly as strong, she very easily made up for it with her speed and reflexes. However, this time, something appeared to be _off_ about her. Her attacks were sloppier than usual and her reflexes and speed seemed to have dulled. It was terribly easy for him to sidestep one of her punches, grab her arm, and flip her over, slamming her on her back.

"I assume there's something wrong." John said as he helped Lynn back up to her feet.

"Something's been bugging me." Lynn said gloomily. "I really need advice."

John suddenly wondered what ridiculous series of events happened that turned him from a soldier to a counselor.

"What's the problem?" John sighed as he sat on a nearby bench.

"Well…" Lynn sat down next to him and shuffled nervously. It was a bit awkward talking to somebody over a foot taller than you. "Have you ever had to deal with the fear of never seeing one of your friends after a battle? I mean, I'm sure you have…"

The words suddenly sparked a memory from deep within John's mind. The memory want back years, centuries technically, but it was still long ago…

**Years Ago**

_John grimaced as he looked on at the Covenant armored column slowly trundling up the road four kilometers away. The original plan was to attack the Covenant force and lure them up into the mountains, where John and his fellow Spartans were waiting in ambush. However, the snag was that the Covenant force they were planning to attack was seven times the size of the original estimate. Instead of the two thousand troops they were originally tasked to destroy, the Covenant force swelled with nearly fourteen thousand troops._

"_Well that's great, more targets." Kurt said, with an edge of humor in his voice._

"_Shut it, Kurt, it's serious time now." Fred snapped._

_Kurt pantomimed closing a zipper across the mouth of his helmet, signifying he was shutting up._

_John ignored their antics and continued observing the Covenant force. Against the fourteen thousand enemies, John had ten Spartans at his disposal, including himself. Of course, he had his Blue Team with him, the best of the best that he had personally handpicked. Fred, Linda, Kelly, and Kurt were all there with him. In addition, Joshua, Grace, Isaac, and Vinh were present as well._

"_Options?" John turned to Fred and Kurt. Besides John himself, they were the most capable leaders among the Spartans, and John often turned to them for tactical advice._

"_Well, it's a safe bet that they're not going to come to us." Fred brought out his map and pointed to their current position. "There's three passes along these mountains, and only two of them are large enough to accommodate a force that size. And guess what…"_

"_We got the short straw." John sighed._

"_That's right. Even though we're on the straightest line through the mountains, they'll just pass us by to the other passes. Even if we attack them, it's not guaranteed that they'll follow us, seeing as they have alternatives."_

"_Then we take them away." Kurt chipped in. "We've got enough explosives to cut off those passes and force them into ours."_

"_But there's no way we'll be able to destroy such a huge force." Fred pointed out._

"_You're right, we don't have nearly enough bullets."_

_The Spartans chuckled at Kurt's quip._

"_But in all seriousness, we can't expect to destroy them all." John said. "This is a holding action."_

"_But what are we holding for?" Kurt asked._

"_Briefing mentioned that there's a Marine about ten kilometers from our position." John marked the spot on the map. "They're carrying a load of HAVOK nuclear warheads we can use, but the catch is that they're under strict radio silence. They can't receive or send anything due to the sensitivity of their cargo."_

"_So how do are we supposed to-" Fred paused and glanced at Kelly. "Never mind sir, I'm an idiot." _

"_Kelly! Front and center!" John yelled._

"_What is it, Chief?" Kelly was there in a flash, a testament to her characteristic speed._

"_Role switch." John pointed to the map. "You're going to be a runner instead of a rabbit. Get to this position, make contact with the convoy there, and bring them back here as fast as possible."_

"_What about you?" Kelly asked._

"_We can't afford to let the Covenant through these mountains. The rest of us are staying behind to perform a holding action."_

_John and Kelly glanced at each other for what seemed like an eternity, though to anybody else, only seconds would have passed. Nobody but John and Kelly themselves could guess what the _

_other was thinking._

"_You'd better still be here when I get back." Kelly said._

"_Of course." John picked up his rifle and flipped the safety off. "Who the hell do you think I am?"_

**Present**

"My best piece of advice is to stay confident." John said. "My fellow Spartans were more than fellow soldiers and friends, they were like family. The only way we could deal with repeatedly going into battle was to believe that we'd be able to make to end."

"Did it work?"

"Most of the time." John said solemnly.

**Edge of the Sol System  
Two days later**

In the depths of space, a battlefleet of a size not seen since the apocalyptic war between the Foreunner and Flood had gathered. Over sixteen hundred ships of varying size, class, and affiliation were flying in formation under a single cause. Some were not even human, but were just as determined to fight with them. At the head of this massive fleet was the _Valhalla_, with Admiral Keyes in command. He viewed the grand vista and couldn't help but smile. Finally, after all these years, the scattered bands of human survivors had finally found a cause to unite them.

"Soldiers, crewmen, and civilians of the United Exile Fleet." Keyes spoke, transmitting his speech on the fleetwide channel. "Today is the culmination of two centuries of exile. Today is the day we finally stop bowing to fate and create our own. Today is the day we finally return home!"

There was a gaggle of cheers and whoops across the various channels, mostly coming from the most loyal ships. Keyes grinned and continued.

"However, I cannot guarantee that this will be an easy battle, or that we will succeed at all. There are many challenges that lie ahead of us, and I know that some of you believe that our predicament is bleak, but we must stand firm! We don't know how many enemies we will be facing, so we assume we're outnumbered a million to one. We don't know what enemies we'll be facing, so assume it's against the very Prophets themselves. We don't what are chances of 

survival are, so assume that they are zero. We may never set foot on Earth, and we, along with the last hope of Humanity's future, may be wiped out. Nobody may know of our great deeds and heroic sacrifices, and we may never be buried under solid earth, but know one thing." Keyes paused and took a breath. "If we can't make a memorial on Earth, then we'll build one here! We'll build a memorial out of the enemy's shattered starships and piles of corpses! We may not be remembered by our fellow Exiles, but we enemy will! We will hurt them so badly, that they will remember us and what we did to them until every star burns out and the universe goes cold! Don't fear loss, my friends, for we have already won!"

This time, the cheers were louder and more numerous, as if the speech had stirred the inner fire of the rest of the fleet. Satisfied, Keyes cut the transmission and turned to Ackerson.

"Is everything ready?"

"As ready as it'll ever be, sir." Ackerson acknowledged.

"All ships, prepare to jump on my mark." Keyes paused for a brief second to get a good look at his bridge crew. He could see the determination in their eyes, and he knew that the end was coming. What exactly would end, though, was still up in the air.

"Mark!" He yelled.


	20. Pilgrimage

Chapter 20: Pilgrimage

_**Heretic's Bane**_**  
The Fleet of Blessed Fortune  
High Orbit over Earth**

Fleet Commander Tessek Ronimus sighed as he gazed at the Imperial Covenant fleet slowly orbiting the holy planet below. The name of the planet had long been forgotten, but Ronimus knew that it was an extremely important strategic and religious objective for the Prophets. The exact nature of the planet was not known, and Ronimus and his fleet were absolutely forbidden to attempt to land on it. Instead, the Prophets would send the occasional scout ship, only to have it promptly destroyed by the Forerunner defenses. Ronimus knew of the Prophets' desire to discover more Forerunner facilities and artifacts, but never before had he seen a Forerunner planet so heavily defended.

"Fleet Commander!" One of the bridge crew yelled.

"What is it?" Ronimus asked, bored.

"Sensors have detected Slipspace fluctuations outside the system." The crewman said. "Though it must be some sort of mistake…"

"Don't make silly assumptions." Ronimus snapped, causing the Kig-Yar crewman to recoil in fear. "Tell me what that means."

"Well, from these readings, it says that there are hundreds of ships moving through Slipspace, maybe even a thousand or more, but it makes no sense. The Human fleets barely number over a hundred ships, and the majority of the Republican battlegroups have been accounted for. There's no way there can be so many ships, unless the humans have finally banded together, but such a thing has never happened!"

"This is troubling." Ronimus grumbled. "Order the ships to raise alert status to full, I don't want-"

Suddenly, _Eternal Wrath_, the cruiser that had been orbiting along the _Heretic's Bane_'s port side, exploded in a massive fireball, sending shards of metal and clouds of volatile plasma flying in all directions. _Heretic's Bane_ shuddered as the debris began impacting against her naked hull, while other ships, similarly unshielded, were caught in the fireball or were torn apart.

"Activate shields and power up weapons!" Ronimus yelled."Order the fleet to full alert!"

Like a hive of angry bees, the Covenant fleet suddenly began buzzing with activity. Bright blue flares flickered across the skies of Earth as Covenant ships powered up their shields. Clouds of Seraph fighters poured out of their hangar bays and started forming defensive screens around their motherships while the pickets took positions on the outermost edges of the fleet formation. However, even with the quick response, a half dozen more ships succumbed to the unseen enemy.

Like wraiths in the night, the three _Ghillie_-class frigates _Ranger_, _Sojourner_, and _Voyager_ slipped out of the combat zone, their payloads expended. However, they weren't the only infiltrators working to sow confusion and destruction among the enemy. _Phantom_ was among the Covenant fleet as well. It had been silently subverting a carrier, leaving instructions for it to ram the nearest ship at full speed. The resulting crash annihilated a cruiser as the carrier's front prow punched through its hull like a javelin. The damage from the crash touched off sensitive plasma cores in the carrier, creating massive secondary explosions that severely damaged a cruiser and incinerated a dozen small support ships.

At this point, the advantage of surprise had evaporated as the Covenant fleet finally mobilized. The infiltrator ships withdrew, leaving the rest of the fighting up to the more conventional warships. Leading the charge was _Valhalla_ and _Pegasus_, leaving a mixed force of Fleet Orion and Starfall ships. Instead of jumping in all at once, Keyes had separated the Exile forces into several groups. That way, the Covenant would not know their true numbers, and it meant that Keyes would have reserves to call on if he needed them.

At face value, the three hundred Covenant ships would have demolished the seemingly paltry one hundred fifty that Keyes had deployed, but it failed to take into account that three quarters of the Covenant fleet was on the other side of Earth, well out of range and unable to contribute. The Covenant and Human ships both traded volleys of fire. Ships on both sides took hits and were damaged or destroyed. _Valhalla_ and _Pegasus_ spearheaded the assault, blasting a hole into the Covenant line with their superior firepower. However, the less advanced Human ships didn't fare so well. The destroyers _Adamant_ and _Kayle_ and the frigate _Solusar _were incinerated, and a dozen other ships took heavy damage.

"Fire all missiles at the orbital facilities!" Keyes yelled. "Instruct _Pegasus, Ironbreaker, _and, _Siegebreaker_ to do the same!"

The two cruisers and two missile frigates unleashed a storm of high explosive destruction. The missiles sent devastating explosions rippling around the three Covenant defense platforms, wiping out the defensive fighter screens and blinding the platforms' point defense systems. With the signal given, Group Rogue Spear, Jiles' ragtag fleet of scavengers, mercenaries, and pirates, swarmed the Covenant installations. Since their job professions required it, the scavengers were extremely skilled in ship boarding and close combat. Within seconds, hundreds of heavy fighters, corvettes, and light frigates locked onto the Covenant defense platforms and began disgorging their armed cargo.

Meanwhile, Keyes' second battle group jumped in directly behind him and began contributing their firepower. Under the withering assault of missiles, lasers, and MAC rounds, the Covenant were forced to break formation or be destroyed. With a wide window over Earth, the Human ships quickly consolidated their small victory and entrenched themselves in high orbit. Meanwhile, with the element of surprise on their side, Jiles and his men were able to storm the vital sections of the defense platforms and seize control, adding their firepower to the Human fleet.

"Position secure." Jillian announced. "The Covenant ships are falling back."

"Get the dropshps ready to launch." Keyes ordered.

**Hangar Deck**

Five dropships sat in the hangar, warming up their engines and waiting for their cargo. These five dropships would be joining a total flight of twenty, with Covenant Republic support, to spearhead an assault onto Earth's surface. According to the information Silent Caretaker had given, the mechanism that allowed direct access to the Ark was located on the African continent. However the portal could not be opened without the aid of a Forerunner ship Silent Caretaker dubbed a "Keyship". Once a Keyship was prepped and ready, the strike force would then proceed to the Ark to deactivate the Sentinels and the rest of the Forerunner defense network.

The most obvious problem was finding a Keyship in the first place, but Silent Caretaker had a solution. Before the Forerunner abandoned the planet, they had left a single Keyship behind, buried under the surface where their enemies could not find it. As another security measure, the Keyship was kept permanently phased into a pocket of Slipspace, making it impossible to access via conventional means. Fortunately for the Humans though, Silent Caretaker knew where to find, and most importantly, how to access and activate the Keyship.

"Dropships ready to launch." Eurale announced.

"Begin stage two of the operation!" Keyes commanded.

With that, the dropships disgorged from their carriers and made a beeline straight for the planet. Normally, there wouldn't be any possible way for a small flight of dropships to pass the impenetrable wall of Sentinels guarding the planet, but Keyes had already thought of that. Thanks to data taken from _Puddlejumper_'s flight recorder, Keyes was inspired by the tactic its crew used to reach the surface, and decided to take it to the next level.

At the outer edge of the battlespace, a Slipspace wormhole opened, and a massive silver arrow shot out at near lightspeed, showing no sign of slowing down at all. The silver arrow was actually the old civilian superfreighter _Merchant's Bounty_, out on its final voyage. Its sheer mass, rivaling that of a full size cruiser, would be its weapon. Covenant ships, seeing the fast approaching ship, were quick enough to maneuver out of the way, but they weren't the true target. _Merchant's Bounty _continued on its suicidal trajectory straight at Earth. The Sentinels, detecting the threat, began to mass together in an attempt to fight off the freighter. Golden beams of light lanced through the ship, but did nothing to slow it down. The ship's crew had long since abandoned ship and it was now only running on basic automated algorithms. The freighter then slammed into the Earth's atmosphere and the formation of Sentinels like a truck ramming a brick wall. _Merchant's Bounty_ was crushed flat by the sheer force. Its nuclear reactor, already red-lining, finally overloaded and exploded, engulfing the skies over Earth with nuclear fire. Following close behind, the dropships blasted straight through the cloud of fire and debris, using the after effects of the explosion to shield their approach from the Sentinels.

"Why didn't we do this when we first came here?" Kay wondered. "It seems so much simpler now."

"I think it had something to do with the fact that we didn't have a superfreighter just happening to be sitting around for us to use." Kyle retorted, making sure enough energy was being diverted to shields to protect _Puddlejumer_ from the heat and random debris. "Brace yourselves guys, this is going to be a rough landing."

Fortunately, unlike the first time they arrived, there were no Sentinels to greet them as they descended to the surface. The majority had been wiped out by _Merchant's Bounty_'s sacrificial attack run, and the rest were busy trying to fight off other threats dipping into low orbit like Covenant warships attempting to retreat from or make their way to the main naval battle.

Lynn stayed quiet during the entire descent. She was trying to focus her mind for the battle ahead, but something kept distracting her. Whenever she let her mind and senses wander, she'd suddenly start catching brief glimpses of visions. Though it wasn't particularly harmful, it was fairly jarring and did a good job at breaking her concentration. The visions seemed to become more common as they neared the surface, and Lynn didn't think it was just coincidence.

"You okay?" John, who was sitting right next to her, asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lynn gave a reassuring, but hollow smile.

Suddenly, the vision flashed before Lynn's eyes again, but it stayed much longer this time. She realized that it was another distant psychic echo, even more ancient than the one she picked up on Reach. She saw a single ship, neither Human nor Covenant, descending alongside them. Nobody saw it because it wasn't actually there. It was a figment in her imagination, trying to make sense of what her passive telepathy was detecting. As Lynn tried to get a more detailed look at the alien ship, it faded away just as quickly as it appeared.

With the Sentinel population in the area depleted, the majority of the assault teams met little resistance as they touched down on the landing zone. A few of them ran into some stiff Sentinel resistance, but they eventually managed to clear out the Sentinels. However, some teams ran into more Sentinels than others…

"Why the hell do we have to have the LZ with all its Sentinels still intact?!" Kay complained.

"Didn't you hear? Nobody likes you." Kyle snarked.

"Ha ha." Kay fired a burst from her rail rifle and downed another Sentinel. "They have to end eventually."

"Last I checked, there were exactly sixty two Sentinels stationed in this area." Silent Caretaker said helpfully. "So far, you've only destroyed ten of them."

"Can't you do something other than talk?" Kay yelled.

"I'm sorry, but that is not within my parameters."

"You do realize," Ackerson pointed out, "that you're holding up an entire platoon of Marines with all your bickering?"

"Oh screw this." Lynn drew Laevateinn and broke cover, charging the line of Sentinels. The automated drones turned and tried to track her, but Lynn had augmented her speed to the point where she was just a blur. Before anybody had time to blink, a dozen Sentinels dropped to the ground in pieces, their formidable shields useless against the sword powered by their own technology.

"Oh dear, she really is a special one, isn't she?" Silent Caretaker observed.

"Yeah." Kyle nodded. "You might want to stay back. It's kind of hard to tell you apart from a Sentinel."

"A wise decision." Silent Caretaker agreed.

The Sentinels put up a stubborn fight, but eventually they gave way to the determined assault led by Lynn and John. It took several more minutes for Silent Caretaker to phase the Keyship back into realspace. Soon, there was a deep rumbling from the earth that shook everything for miles around.

"Now we must proceed to the control station." Silent Caretaker said. "Fortunately, the operation of a Keyship one of my primary functions, so I can assist you there."

"Finally, something you can actually do!" Kay sighed.

"So wait, how do we get into the Keyship?" Sanah looked around. "My sensors are detecting a massive shift in the earth below, but I don't see anything we can use to-"

Suddenly, both the ragtag group and every single Marine and Covenant Republic solider disappeared in a flash of light.

**Keyship**

When their sense readjusted, everybody realized that they were now inside a cavernous, brilliantly lit chamber. The architecture and atmosphere was purely Forerunner and fairly familiar, but the main difference was the near perfect preservation. Every facility that they had previously come across had either been abandoned or partly destroyed from a long forgotten battle.

"There are several points of interest that will be imperative to gain control of." Silent Caretaker said. "The most expedient method would be to divide in teams."

"Fine, I'll get my men to take those areas." Ackerson nodded. "Me and my squad will go and take the bridge."

"Gladly."

"Lynn, you stay here and hold position." Ackerson's grin nearly turned into a sneer. "Just don't cause too much trouble."

After Ackerson and his Marines left, Silent Caretaker turned back to face Lynn and said, "It's a pity that I sent his squad the coordinates for the waste recycler facilities."

"Wait, you mean, you _lied_ to him?" Sanah asked, bewildered.

"Correct. After careful observation, it is in my opinion that Ackerson and his men are not the optimal choice to take the bridge." Silent Caretaker explained. "Their combat rating, at best, is Class Two. The defenses at the bridge are Class Twelve."

"So wait, you mean we're the only ones that can beat them then?" Kyle asked.

"Not exactly. I specifically meant that you are currently the best suited to take on a Class Twelve threat, not that you would have an guarantee of winning."

"So then, what are our ratings then?" Lynn asked.

"Class Three."

This only elicited blank looks from everybody present. However, Silent Caretaker either didn't notice or didn't care and continued on.

"This is far as my protection can take you." Silent Caretaker said calmly. "You'll have to fight the rest of the way, but fortunately, it shouldn't be a long trip."

They quickly progressed though the large blast doors that led out of the room and passed through several eerily empty chambers.

"Why isn't there anything here?" Kyle wondered.

"Oh, there's definitely something here." Lynn cautioned.

"I agree." John nodded, his instincts warning him to stay alert.

"Wait." Sanah said, stopping. "My sensors are picking up movement. Two contacts, closing in fast."

"Watch out!" Lynn shoved Kyle and Kay, sending them flying across the chamber.

"What the hell was that for!?" Kay yelled before seeing a vaguely humanoid being materialize where she and Kyle were just standing.

"Company." John drew his rifle and fired at the new threat.

"Watch your back!" Lynn warned. John whipped around just in time to see the second ambusher rushing at him. A swift swing of his weapon connected with the attacker and sent it flying back.

"What are these things?" Kyle shouted, firing at the first attacker. It was a lanky, humanoid automaton that looked like a human version of a Sentinel. Its blue, glowing eyes resonated with the twin pair of blades attached to its forearms. The weapons looked briefly familiar until Kyle realized they were near identical to Lynn's phase sword.

"John! Don't let those things hit you!" Kyle warned. "Your shields will be useless against those blades!

"Oh dear." Silent Caretaker mused. "It appears Class Twelve Sentinels have already been deployed."

"You could've told us about them earlier!" Kay yelled as she tried to track one of the Sentinels. Even though the group had superior firepower, the Class Twelve Sentinels were ungodly fast, zipping to and fro.

"Something's not right." John observed, rolling to dodge a scissoring attack by one of the Sentinels. "They're moving too fast."

"Wait." Sanah backed off toward Silent Caretaker. "Is there some kind of teleportation grid in this ship?"

"Why of course." Silent Caretaker said matter of factly. "It's used by Monitors for expedient travel to and from the various facilities that require their attention."

"Can Sentinels use the grid as well?"

"Possible. However, most Sentinel types are not advanced enough to take advantage of the grid, but Class Twelve Sentinels can."

"Can you disable it?"

"But that would be a violation of numerous proto-"

"Oh, shut up." Sanah cut off the Monitor and forcibly plugged in a connection jack into it.

"Wait! That's not supposed to go there!" Silent Caretaker whined.

Sanah ignored him and continued taking advantage of her opportunity to hack the Forerunner network. While daunting at first, Sanah found it monumentally simple to break through the initial firewalls and anti intrusion measures. Apparently, Forerunner programmers thought along the same lines as human ones. Ignoring Silent Caretaker's protest, Sanah quickly deduced which systems were running the Keyship's teleportation grid. She only had a few seconds before the system's electronic defenses could reform themselves, which only gave her enough time to tinker with the programming of just one of the Sentinels.

An instant later, one of the Class Twelve Sentinels suddenly disappeared and reappeared, fused inside the chamber wall as its molecules combined with the walls. Such a freak teleportation accident would have been impossible with the system's safeguards, but Sanah had cleverly disabled them before she was booted back out of the system.

"Well, that lowers the threat by half." Kay sighed.

"We had enough trouble just fighting _one_." Kyle breathed. "I don't even know if John and Lynn can take it."

Sure enough, the second and final Sentinel was proving a handful, even for the telepath and the SPARTAN. Even without the ability to teleport, the killing machine was still supernaturally swift and agile, dodging every attack aimed at it. Lynn was being pushed to her limits trying to predict where the Sentinel will attack next and trying to dodge said attacks, while John, lacking the speed and finesse required to fight the Sentinel in close combat, contributed with tight, controlled bursts of gunfire to keep the Sentinel in check, which saved Lynn's life on more than one occasion.

At this point, Lynn knew she wasn't going to last much longer. The Sentinel had the advantage of endurance, and it wasn't necessarily concerned with actually hitting Lynn. All it had to do was force her to expend valuable energy to defend herself until she got tired and made a mistake. With nothing left to try, Lynn took a huge gamble and concentrated the last of her mental reserves to grab the Sentinel in a telekinetic hold. The Sentinel twitched and spasmed as it attempted to fight its way through the telekinetic attack.

"John! Now!" Lynn cried, her voice strained by the sheer effort required to hold down the elite Sentinel.

True to his nature, John didn't waste a second. The Sentinel attempted to swing its right arm around to swipe at him, but John easily grabbed it and brought his elbow crashing down on it, snapping the arm off like a toothpick. The Sentinel stayed inhumanly silent and tried to bring its other arm around to defend itself. Flicking his wrist, John activated the newly installed blade mounted in his forearm. The high frequency blade hummed and shivered as it plunged straight through the Sentinel's armored neck. With another flick of his wrist, John beheaded the machine, making it look deceptively easy. The head then fell off and comically bounced along the floor, but its actual body was still active and still very much dangerous. Determined to put it down once and for all, Lynn brought Laevateinn's unbridled fury down on the Sentinel. The magnificent blue blade slashed a perfect diagonal cut straight through the machine's armored torso like butter, knocking it down for good.

"I say!" Silent Cartaker floated in, his solitary blue eye flashing angrily. "This is a serious breach of protocol!"

"Be quiet and open the door." Sanah growled. "Or I'll hack you again and make sure to fry your speech circuits."

Getting back to the task at hand, Silent Warden opened the final door. As the group walked in, Lynn was suddenly hit with another vision, this one more lucid and longer than the previous ones…

**Eden**

_She was strolling along inside a cave dug into the side of an ancient mountain. As she looked behind her, Lynn could see a massive, beautiful savannah stretching out as far as the eye could see. In front of her, Lynn could see at least a dozen people being led deeper into the cave. These were not people Lynn had seen before. From first look, Lynn could tell that they were rather primitive technology-wise, and looked upon the Monitors and Sentinels floating among them with a mixture of fear and reverence. As they ventured deeper into the cave, they finally met with a hauntingly beautiful woman. While she looked Human, there was something about her that made it clearly obvious that she wasn't. She looked upon the primitive people like a mother would to her children, which served to calm their fears._

"_My children." The woman said. "The time has come for you to leave your homes, at least for a short time. A great darkness is approaching, and it will engulf you all if you stay."_

_This obviously agitated the primitives. They had absolutely no concept of a world outside their small villages and savannah, much less the countless worlds in the infinite universe above. _

"_Do not worry." The woman said soothingly. "You will be brought back in due time. However, I will not and cannot accompany you, and you will not find me waiting for you when you finally return. Because of this, I will impart to you one last piece of knowledge."_

_The woman's eyes scanned the entire crowd. Lynn could almost swear that the woman's eyes had settled on her. But just as quickly, the woman's eyes diverted away._

"_You may not understand these words that I give you, but I can guarantee that they will become invaluable to your people in the momentous and trying times ahead." The woman continued. "These times will not come in many sunrises, and not until after all of you have returned your bodies to the earth, but I ask you to remember these words and to pass them on to your children and friends in any way you can."_

**Keyship**

"Lynn? LYNN!"

Lynn's eyes suddenly snapped open. She then saw Kyle's worried face.

"Huh? What's wrong?" She asked.

"That's the question I was about to ask you!" Kyle sighed. "You just completely zoned out for a second there."

"Sorry, I guess I'm just a little tired from that fight back there." Lynn lied. She wasn't sure if she wanted to reveal that vision to her friends just yet.

"Well, as long as you're okay." Kyle pointed to Silent Caretaker. "Caretaker's gotten everything up and running. We're going to be taking off any second now-"

Suddenly, the entire ship rumbled as its ancient engines, silent and cold for thousands of years, suddenly roared to life. Like a man who was buried alive, the Keyship pushed and clawed its way out of the ground, pushing aside mountains of earth to finally break free to the surface and the sky above.

"It appears that there was some kind of misunderstanding." An obviously angry Ackerson scowled as he and the rest of the Marines marched into the bridge."

"Oh dear, I may have gotten some of the digits switched around." Silent Caretaker mused. "It won't happen again."

"I don't think hanging around with us is too healthy with the little guy." Kyle whispered to Lynn. "It looks like he's picked up some bad habits."

"You always were a terrible role model." Lynn smiled.

"In any case, we have the Keyship moving and the portal has been opened." Silent Caretaker said. "We shall be there shortly."

A minute later, the humans looked out of the Keyship's viewport to see a massive portal floating over the African landscape. Energy crackled along its edges, supercharging the air and creating numerous thunderstorms and other atmospheric phenomena. Lynn briefly wondered if the innate fascination she was feeling was the exact same feeling that those primitive people back then experienced when they first saw such a spectacle.

"Portal activation is a success." Silent Caretaker announced. "Proceeding to the Ark."

With a surge of acceleration, the Keyship boosted through the portal and disappeared.

_**Valhalla**_

"Sir, we've just lost contact with our ground team." Jillian said. "Their final transmission said that they had successfully taken the Keyship and opened the portal."

"It's in their hands now then." Keyes said solemnly.

"We have a target lock on the next Covenant ship." Eurale announced.

"Fire at will!" Keyes commanded.

**The Ark**  
**Just outside the Milky Way Galaxy**

After a flash of light, everybody's eyes refocused to see something unlike anything they could have ever imagined. Below them stood a space station of unrivaled magnitude and scale. Not only was it the size of a small continent, but it was also literally a small continent in space. Nestled within its center lay land masses, rivers, and lakes, all kept alive by a stable and breathable atmosphere, yet immune to the hazards of the vacuum of space it was exposed to. There was nothing quite like it.

"It's… beautiful." Kay whispered.

"Unbelievable." Kyle blinked, his mind racing to figure out just how something like this could work.

John looked on silently, his face hidden by his reflective visor. Those that looked at him briefly pondered what he was feeling. Surprise? Happiness? Disbelief?

Or was it sadness?

Meanwhile, Lynn was not enjoying the same experience the others were having. She was having a terrible headache, and there was this odd buzzing sound in her head. It wasn't just any sound, though. It seemed to permeate not only her ears, but her mind as well, slowly snaking its way into the crevices of her thoughts like the roots of an insidious plant. Then suddenly, without thinking, she marched over to one of the ship's control consoles and started rapidly typing in instructions.

"What are you doing?" Silent Caretaker spun rapidly to face her, genuinely surprised at her apparent familiarity with working with Forerunner technology.

"I- I don't know." Lynn blinked. Suddenly, the buzzing was gone, and now she was looking at the control console and couldn't remember why.

"Lynn, what did you do? Kyle asked.

"Oh dear!" Silent Caretaker panicked. "Something has activated the teleportation grid! It's powering up!"

"What's it teleporting?" Lynn asked.

"You." Silent Caretaker's solitary blue eye stared at Lynn's face.

Instinctively, John and Sanah moved in a vain attempt to reach Lynn's console to abort the teleportation, but they were too late. Due to their close proximity to Lynn, all three disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"What happened?!" Kyle screamed, looking Silent Caretaker. "Where did they go?!"

"I do not know."

"What do you mean!?"

"I do not know." Silent Caretaker said somberly. "I honestly cannot tell you where they are."


	21. An Old Enemy Returns

Chapter 21: An Old Enemy Returns

**Unknown Location  
Codenamed "Epitaph"**

In the space of an eye blink, Lynn realized that she was not in the Keyship anymore. As she looked around, she realized that she was standing in the midst of a massive, beautiful cathedral. She had archive photos of such structures, and had seen at least one while she was exploring that abandoned city on Earth. However, the architecture was undoubtedly Forerunner, and the massive shimmering windows were flowing lines of blue text instead of stained glass, but that did not make it any less spectacular. Distracted by the magnificence of the building around her, Lynn temporarily forgot about her predicament.

That is, until the buzzing sound returned.

**Unknown Location  
Codenamed "Narrows"**

"Where the heck are we?" Sanah blinked, looking around.

"I thought you would know." John remarked. "You're the android with all the electronic goodies built in."

"Well, there's nothing for me to compare our relative position to." Sanah explained, panic starting to creep into her artificial voice modulator. "The best I can say is that we're somewhere on the Ark."

"It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." John glanced out across their position. They were located in the midst of a massive, multi-tiered bridge that bridged what seemed like a bottomless crevice. The whole thing reminded John about his time on that Halo ring. He knew it happened at least two centuries ago, but it felt as if it were literally yesterday that he was fighting for his life in the hellish Forerunner complexes dotting the ring.

"Amazing." Sanah's eyes clicked as she recorded everything she saw. "I knew that the Forerunner were masters of engineering, but I've never seen anything on this scale. They've literally built an artificial planet in what's effectively the middle of nowhere."

"Trust me, it'll get old fast." John armed his rifle.

"Expecting trouble?" Sanah asked.

"I always do, and I'm usually never disappointed." John said sagely.

"Uh oh." Sanah's eyes lit up. "My sensors are detecting movement."

"And that would be our trouble." John sighed.

**Keyship**

"What do you mean you can't find them?!" Kyle yelled at Silent Caretaker for the millionth time.

"Like I said before, I had been locked out of the teleport functions in the duration your companion had been operating it. I have been and currently am not able to retrieve the exact coordinates your compatriots were transported to."

"And we have no time to go look for them." Ackerson stepped forward. "If you haven't forgotten already, our fleets are currently openly engaged with the Covenant. If we don't seize control of the Forerunner defense network now, all this would have been for nothing."

Kyle seethed but stayed silent. He knew that this one time, Ackerson was right. There was no way they could waste time looking for Lynn or the others, but part of him refused to believe that.

"Kyle…" Kay put a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "You've got to calm down."

"I know, I know." Kyle sighed and glared at Ackerson. "Alright, we'll come along with you."

"I'm sure you will." Ackerson said. "You may not believe me, but I am genuinely worried about Lynn's safety as well."

"Bullshit." Kyle snapped.

"Sergeant Fokker, make sure that the Monitor takes us to the Ark's control center." Ackerson said, glaring at Kyle. "It appears that I must have a few words in private with Mr. Carter here."

**Narrows**

With the unknown contacts still coming ever closer, both John and Sanah decided it would be a good time to get off the bridge. It was an incredibly long span, but the android and SPARTAN both had more than enough stamina to cover the distance. As they neared the north end of the bridge, they noticed something odd jutting out from the side. John and Sanah moved closer to investigate.

"It looks like a ship." John observed. "A human ship."

"That can't be right!" Sanah gasped, taking a closer look. "There's no way that-"

But the ship was definitely made by humans. The hard, straight surfaces and rough exterior of the ship's remains clashed violently with the smooth and graceful lines of the Forerunner architecture surrounding it. It looked as if the ship had crashed into the north side of the crevice, plowing through the rock and earth and straight into the bridge. Unfortunately, the ship was at least the size of a small corvette, so its massive bulk blocked the northern end of the bridge.

"It looks like we'll have to go the other way." John remarked.

"Wait." Sanah's eyes clicked as they zoomed in on the remains of the ship. "There's something about this wreck…"

Sanah used her enhanced servos to leap onto the top of the wreck and carefully examined the hull. The ship had fallen over onto its side, and Sanah was hoping to find some kind of distinguishing marker, a serial number, or even better, a name. However, the hull was scorched and torn up from the rigors of atmospheric reentry. Unable to find what she wanted, she ran to the nearest access hatch and tore it open with her enhanced strength.

"We don't have much time." John growled, climbing up to the hatch.

"This won't take long." Sanah said, her memory banks whining as she tried to dig up a piece of long forgotten data. If her suspicions were correct…

"We've got five minutes at the most." John warned.

Sanah nodded and leapt into the hatch. Inside, since the ship was on its side, everything was thrown and tossed around in a huge mess. A normal person would have been incredibly disoriented and confused at the unfamiliar layout, but Sanah was quickly able to adjust her movements and compensated. She deftly maneuvered her way towards the ship's bridge. Since the ship's reactor had long since gone cold, she didn't even bother trying to hack any of the closed doors. She merely pulled them off their frames and continued onwards. All the while, she was scanning the ship's superstructure as she passed, checking it against her stored memories. As each picture began to match, her suspicions soon began to slowly confirm themselves.

However, Sanah never even needed to reach the bridge to reach her conclusion. Thirty meters into the wreck, and she found one little piece of evidence that definitively solved the mystery of the identity of the anonymous ship. She knelt down and picked up a small holoprojector. The image it projected flickered and had terrible resolution due to age and its fading battery, but one look at the photo and a quick comparison to the archived ones stored in Sanah's memory told the android all she needed to know. The ship she was standing in was the long lost _Weatherlight_. The proof Sanah needed was the ancient photograph. There was no denying it. Her facial recognition programs were showing a near perfect match.

The picture was of a baby Lynn and her parents.

"But… how?" Sanah asked herself, trying to connect the dots.

"Sanah!" John yelled. "We have to go, _now_!"

**Epitaph**

Lynn clutched her head in pain as the buzzing grew louder to the point of severe discomfort. She suddenly realized that the buzzing wasn't just something wrong with her. Rather, it was someone, or _something_, trying to probe her mind. Furious that somebody had been trying to manipulate her this entire time, she retaliated with her own psychic probe, but instantly regretted it.

Most other beings she met had relatively simple minds. Reading them was like reading book; they were all different, with varying sizes, complexity, and depth. However, this mind was unlike anything Lynn had experienced before. It was simply _massive_, beyond all comprehension. Lynn couldn't even begin to describe in words the terrible things she saw and felt and instinctively trembled in fear, falling to her knees. Tears rolled down her face as the entire weight of this malevolent consciousness began to press down her like an ocean wave crashing down on the shore. What made it worse was when the consciousness finally noticed her.

"_**I. See. You."**_

Panicking, Lynn withdrew her psychic probe and shut her mind in an attempt to hide her presence from the unseen horror. She successfully managed to lock the creature out, but she knew it was still there, prowling the edges of her mind, quietly whispering to her in its hellish voice.

"_**Foolish creature of flesh and bone. What do you hope to achieve against a being of perfection?"**_

"W-what are you?" Lynn whispered. Terrified at the thought that she was no longer in control of the unseen realm she had been born in.

"_**I? I am a monument to all your sins." **_The voice chuckled.

Lynn realized that Gravemind, she didn't know how she knew its name, was attempting to distract her. She whipped around to see a mass of small, fleshy creatures swarming from the walls of the cathedral.

"_**Join us." **_Gravemind said soothingly. _**"We are peace. We are stability. We are… perfection."**_

**Narrows**

By the time Sanah clambered out of _Weatherlight_'s hatch John was already firing at an unseen enemy. Sanah scanned the bridge ahead and saw it was infested with the same Flood creatures they had encountered on the _Pillar of Autumn_. There was literally almost a sea of them swarming across, and both Sanah and John knew that just the two of them would never be able to hold off such a massive wave.

"Is there any way out of here?" Sanah asked, adding her fire to John's.

"Only one." John pointed to the other side of the bridge.

"H-how are we supposed to get all the way over there?" Sanah gasped. "We've got all those things in between."

"We use that." John pointed to the lower level, where there was a glowing fountain of blue energy flowing outward towards the other end of the crevice.

"What is it?"

"A teleporter, hopefully." John shrugged. "Looks similar to the ones I've seen on Halo."

"Better than nothing." Sanah jumped down, spraying the oncoming hordes of Flood forms with her rail rifle. Quite a number of them managed to cling onto her and unsuccessfully attempted to infect her. Fortunately, being an android, she was immune to such attacks and merely brushed them off.

John, on the other hand, was a different matter. Though his shields and armor provided superior protection, he was still vulnerable due to being an organic being. He was more wary of infection forms that attempted to swarm him and made liberal use of the frag grenades he had. It wasn't long before they managed to wade their way through the forms and to the teleporter.

"Wait." Sanah narrowed her eyes. "Something tells me this isn't a teleporter…"

To test her theory, she grabbed an infection form that was crawling around on her shoulder and tossed it onto the blue energy stream. The infection form was literally catapulted across the length of the crevice, landing on the other end of the bridge.

"What. The. Hell." Sanah blinked. Why in the world would the Forerunner engineer such a hairbrained transportation system?

"Better than nothing." John said, echoing Sanah's previous sentiment. He dropped a frag grenade into the energy catapult, which flung the explosive to the far side of the bridge, temporarily clearing the opposite end of infection forms. He then promptly leapt onto the catapult himself. Suddenly, John felt weightless as he was flung through the air. He resisted the urge to look down and prepped for landing, performing a perfect roll to absorb the shock. He instantly recovered and began pouring fire into the flood forms around him.

"Why me…" Sanah sighed and followed suit. Her landing was a bit harder due to her sheer weight, but her superb engineering made up for this fact.

"Almost there." John pushed through the nearest wave of infection forms and was nearly at the door when he saw larger figures shambling toward him. Flood combat forms charged forward, swinging their arms wildly. John backed off mowing down several combat forms. One managed to get close enough for melee range and bashed its arms against John's chest. His shields and armor took the brunt of the force. John then grabbed the combat form by the head and tossed it into the catapult, sending it flying through the air.

Sanah contributed John's hail of gunfire with her own. However, she looked over and saw a small group of abnormally bulbous combat forms waddling their way towards John's flank. Her rifle clip was empty, and with quick calculation, she realized that she wouldn't have time to reload.

"Watch out!" Sanah sprinted forward toward the combat forms. She clenched her mechanical fist and literally punched the head off one of the combat forms.

"Wait, no!" John yelled, but it was too late.

The shock of Sanah's blow as enough to trigger the volatile chemicals and explosives stored inside the Flood carrier form. The resulting explosion triggered a violent chain reaction with the other carrier forms, creating enough force to knock John down and clear the entire deck of Flood. When he got up and looked around, he couldn't find Sanah, at least any intact part of her.

"Well, this is… inconvenient."

John looked over to see Sanah, or at least what was left of her, lying on the ground. The force of the blast had literally sheared her mechanical body in half, leaving only the top half, her head, and her right arm still attached together and in recognizable form. Cables, hydraulic lines, and circuit boards jutted out from the parts of her body that were torn open and exposed. However, her head, and by extension, her memory core was still intact, which was really all that mattered.

"Well, how are we going to get out of here now?" John asked. He could hear the Flood coming, since they would have regrouped by now. He glanced at the remains of Sanah's body and figured that he would be able to carry it, but it would be too heavy and cumbersome to outrun the Flood.

"Um, I'm an android, remember?" Sanah pointed to the back of her neck with her remaining arm. "There's a switch back there that ejects my emergency preservation pack. It should be compatible with your armor."

John reached down and pulled the data crystal out of Sanah's neck. Almost instantly, her eyes went blank and her body went limp. John then inserted the crystal into the back of his neck, straight into his brain implants that allowed him to directly interface with Cortana all those years ago.

"Huh, it's much roomier in here than I thought it was." Sanah mused, her voice bouncing around in John's head. It actually felt soothing, and very familiar, as if Cortana was back in his head. However, Sanah, like all AI, was still very much different. She lacked Cortana's self-confidence and seemed to be more cautious when probing around John's head.

"Don't worry." John said. "I don't bite. Much."

"Sorry." Sanah said, slightly embarrassed. "I never really did directly interface with a person before. It's very… enlightening."

The sounds of inhuman shrieking and screaming reminded John that this area was no longer safe.

"Sensors are picking up contacts. A _lot_ of contacts." Sanah warned.

"Just tell me where to go." John said, his spirits now higher than they were a few minutes ago.

**Keyship**

"We have arrived at the control center." Silent Caretaker announced. "It's directly below us."

"Good." Ackerson nodded. "Can you teleport us down there?"

"Yes, I have repaired the teleportation systems." Silent Caretaker's eye flickered. "That's odd, I seem to be receiving no communication from any units in the control center."

"Can it be there's nothing there?" Kyle asked.

"Impossible." Silent Caretaker snapped. "There should always be at least one Monitor and force of Sentinels present at any one time. Also, there appears to be some form of interference that is rendering the teleportation grid inoperable. I cannot teleport you directly inside, so you'll have to make your way in from the outside.

"That'll do." Ackerson armed his rail rifle. "I want four squads with me!."

"Got room for one more?" Kyle stepped forward.

"That depends. Are you here, soldier?" Ackerson said, eyeing Kyle carefully.

"Last I checked."

"Good, because if you break down in the middle of a firefight and I'll be the first to put a round in your head." Ackerson growled.

"And I'd gladly return the favor." Kyle retorted.

"Perhaps… this wasn't such a good idea after all." Silent Caretaker observed.

"Shut up!" Kyle and Ackerson said at the same time.

**Control Center**

The control center seemed like a cold and forbidding structure, towering above the surrounding landscape like the keep of an ancient medieval castle. The small strike team could only stare in awe at the majesty of the structure until Ackerson snapped them all out of it.

"Minds on the mission, people." Ackerson reminded them.

It wasn't long before they entered the tower itself. Kyle noted that it was eerily quiet, except for the distant hum of Forerunner machinery. In front of them lay what seemed like an overly-long walkway, suspended over what seemed like an endless abyss that led to an elaborate looking control console at the very end, illuminated by a massive window.

"That's the target." Ackerson pointed. "Let's move forward. Squad Four will hold position and secure the door."

The Marines pushed forward, making their way across the walkway with ease. However, most of them were nervous. Here they were, at the heart of the entire Ark, yet they did not run into even a single security measure. Where did everything go?

Then they were quickly answered.

The first clue that something was wrong was when one of the Marines at the rear of the formation yelled in surprise and started firing wildly, accompanied with a frenzied warning from Squad Four. The entire assault team turned around, and half of them wished they hadn't. Behind them, crawling up the walls and onto the walkway were countless small, fleshy creatures. Though they were small, there were easily thousands of them swarming around.

"Weapons free to fire!" Ackerson yelled, arming his rail rifle. "Fire at will!"

The Marine's didn't need orders to fire. They unloaded the full fury of their automatic weapons, and if the number of casualties decided battles, they most assuredly would have won that battle several times over. However, the Flood had little concern over losses. Their single-minded drive to assimilate and evolve effectively made them immune to low morale. Plus their numbers were so great that you could easily kill a hundred of them with a single clip of a rail rifle, and the gap in their numbers would instantly be refilled in the time it took to reload.

"Ackerson! There's no way we can hold this position!" Kyle yelled.

Ackerson didn't like it, but he knew that Kyle was right. He was both intrigued and frightened by this new threat, but his self-preservation instincts prevailed and he activated his radio. "All troops, fall back!"

"Caretaker!" Kyle yelled through his radio. "We need extraction! Right now!"

"Like before, you must be outside the structure in order to do so, due to the interference." Caretaker explained. "The stress levels in your voice suggest a massive threat. May I ask what it is?"

Kyle activated the battle recorder in his helmet and transmitted the feed directly to Caretaker.

"Oh my." Caretaker gasped. "_Oh my_."

"It's bad, isn't it?"

"Beyond all comprehension. Quarantine has been broken, and now even the Ark is compromised." Caretaker sighed. "Drastic measures must be taken."

"We'll worry about that later!" At this point, what was left of the strike force had made it to the door. "Get us out of here!"

With a sudden flash, the Marines found themselves back on the deck of the Keyship.

"Get us a headcount!" Ackerson yelled.

After a quick roll call, Ackerson realized that eight men didn't answer. He cursed and turned to Kyle.

"What the hell were those things?"

"I have no idea either." Kyle shrugged, content with the half-truth he told Ackerson.

"This is an incredibly serious matter." Silent Caretaker said as he floated in, followed by Kay and a team of medics. "I'm afraid you must all submit to thorough bio-scans, in order to confirm none of you are carrying the infection."

"You knew what we were dealing with, didn't you?" Ackerson asked suspiciously.

"The existence of the Flood is no secret." Silent Caretaker retorted. "But their existence on the Ark itself is a disturbing revelation."

"I saw the recorder footage." Kay whispered to Kyle. "Aren't those the same things that infested the _Autumn_?"

"The exact same things." Kyle confirmed.

"What the hell did we get ourselves into?" Kay sighed.

Kyle had no answers to that question.

**Epitaph**

Lynn couldn't remember a time where she had to fight while suppressing her own powers at the same time. However, it was a grim necessity to keep that terrible horror known a Gravemind from noticing her. She wasn't at all sure how the thing could even notice such a small, insignificant speck such as her, but she was determined to keep out of its sight, because words could not describe the feeling of dread and terror when it focused its attention on her.

This could not have happened at a worse time. Lynn was surrounded by those terrible little flood infection forms that had so terrified her on _Pillar of Autumn_. In hindsight, it seemed like a silly and petty fear. The infection forms' need to feed and evolve paled in comparison to the sheer absolute terror of Gravemind's will. However, the self-imposed restraint on the use of her own powers meant Lynn was fighting at a disadvantage. For a telepath like herself to fight without psychic powers as like a sniper trying to shoot blindfolded, or a swordsman trying to swing a sword without arms. Lynn felt half blind and deaf, and there so many Flood forms around her.

"Stay away!" Lynn squealed. She instinctively reached out with her mind and shoved the Flood forms away. Unfortunately, she realized too late that this was exactly what Gravemind wanted. With her mind opened again, Lynn felt the full weight of Gravemind's consciousness bearing down on her, an experience that would make any living being go mad, Lynn included.

"_**I am a timeless chorus."**_ Gravemind whispered into her mind. _**"Join your voice with mine, and sing victory everlasting."**_

The sheer weight and power behind Gravemind's words almost compelled Lynn to give in to the temptation. For one brief second, Lynn became part of the Gravemind, and marveled at its majesty and scale. However, a small piece inside her reacted with unimaginable revulsion and instinctively rejected Gravemind for everything it was. It was enough for Lynn to come back to her sense and cut the link again. However, before everything fell silent, Gravemind managed to utter a final line.

"_**Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside, corpses shift and offer room; a fate you must abide!"**_The terrible being cackled.

Lynn suddenly felt tired and collapsed to her knees. To the side of the room, she caught sight of a massive, brutish combat form lumbering its way toward her. Lynn didn't do anything. She was too tired.

The combat form grabbed Lynn's throat with its massive arm and lifted her up from the ground, forcing her to look into its eyeless and mouthless face. The creature had more than enough strength to instantly snap Lynn's neck with a flick of its wrist, but that wasn't its objective. Instead, it slowly tightened its grip, squeezing the life out of Lynn little by little in an attempt to force her to use her powers again, but Lynn wasn't going to play by Gravemind's rules. She would rather die than be controlled by that horrid monstrosity. Her lungs burned and her brain screamed at her to try and breathe, but Lynn merely closed her eyes calmly. She could hear Gravemind's distant roars and screams of frustration and anger at the idea of its puppet refusing to bend to its will.

Suddenly, the combat form's head exploded, showering Lynn with a mixture of blood, pus, and ichor. The arm around her throat relaxed and she fell to the ground, coughing as air rushed back into her lungs. She looked up to see a pair of figures standing over her. They were clad in magnificent power armor, more graceful and advanced than anything she had ever seen and made her own armor look like a set of clunky medieval knight's in comparison. She couldn't tell who they were or what they wanted, but she knew that they were definitely not Exiles, but were definitely Human.

"This isn't a place for people like you to be playing around in." The lead figure said, helping Lynn to her feet. From the old, tired tone of his voice, Lynn could tell that he was an aged man who had seen far more than any single living being should have.

"Sorry, I'm just a little… lost…" Lynn sighed as she lost consciousness.

"What do we do with her, sir?" One of the other armored figures asked, his Sentinel laser armed in case the Flood decided to show up again.

"She's a lost soul, just like us." The leader mused. "Prep the teleport matrix. We're going to Valhalla."


	22. Survivors

Chapter 22: Survivors

**Shelter Codename: Valhalla**

Lynn groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. Surprised that she was still alive, she looked around groggily to find herself in what looked like a makeshift infirmary. There were beds and medical equipment placed all around the room, but the Human-made equipment clashed with the Forerunner architecture of the room they were contained in. She desperately wanted to telepathically probe the surrounding area, but she could hear Gravemind's whispers in the back of her head, torpedoing that idea. She looked down and realized that she had also been stripped out of her armor and was now only wearing the simple undersuit that was worn underneath it.

"I see you're awake." That same old, grizzled voice from before uttered. "You've been unconscious for the past two days."

Lynn, not used to being caught by surprise, jumped in fright when she saw an old man, probably in his forties or fifties, walking into the infirmary. He was wearing a simple grey jumpsuit that covered a thin but solid frame. He had short, grizzled hair that was completely white and only complemented his cold blue eyes. Even though Lynn was absolutely sure he had never met this man in her life, there was something oddly familiar about him.

"Who are you?" Lynn asked, confused.

"I could very well ask you the same question." The man laughed as he sat on the bed next to Lynn's. "We don't get very many visitors here on the Ark. Human ones, at least."

"Alright." Lynn sighed. It wasn't as if she had much choice in refusing to answer the man. "My name's Lynn Wellings."

"Really?" The man's smile wavered for a brief second in surprise, but Lynn was quick enough to catch it.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing." The man shook his head. "I used to have a name very much like yours too, but that was all in the past. These days I'm now known as Didact."

"Then it's nice to meet you, Didact." Lynn smiled.

"Anyways," Didact coughed and looked away, as if he was trying to avoid direct eye contact with Lynn, "how exactly did you arrive here? The location of the Ark is not a well known fact."

"We came here from the portal." Lynn pointed to the sky, or rather, the ceiling of the infirmary. "We found it on Earth, and we took it to come here."

"For what reason?" Didact asked.

"To disable the Forerunner defenses there." Lynn replied. "It's attacking everything on sight."

"No," Didact frowned, "that shouldn't be right. The system was supposed to-"

"Do you know something?"

"Just from what Mendicant Bias has told us."

"Who?" Lynn raised an eyebrow.

"It will all become clear in time." Didact assured her. "Please, continue the story. What's happening on Earth?"

"Well," Lynn cocked her head, "when we left, we had an entire fleet of Human ships trying to retake the planet from the Covenant. You know who they are, right?"

"Oh, we all know what the Covenant is." Didact smiled. "They are really the reason why we are all here."

"Really?" Lynn was genuinely curious and dearly wished she could use her telepathy.

"I guess it's time for me to tell my side of the story then." Didact sighed.

**Keyship**

It had been over two days now, and the small Exile strike force had not gotten anywhere in its objective to disable the Forerunner defense. There were several more attempts to penetrate the alien defenses around the Control Center, but every time the Marines were repelled. The past few hours were mostly spent on grilling Silent Caretaker and the Forerunner database on all the available knowledge and data on what they called the Flood.

"So what you're telling me," Ackerson sighed, "is that we're dealing with a highly infectious, highly intelligent, and vastly numerically superior parasitic lifeform?"

"You are essentially correct." Silent Caretaker confirmed. "There are currently no known effective countermeasures to Flood infection other than the firing of the Haloes."

"And what would that entail?" Kyle asked.

"Systematic destruction of all sentient life in the galaxy." Silent Caretaker said matter of factly. "In order to eliminate the Flood's primary food source and halt the spread of infection."

"That wouldn't work at all." Kyle shook his head.

"Quite." Silent Caretaker nodded. "Due to a massive system malfunction, the Halo network was compromised and destroyed. Though the Ark has been working at full capacity, only sixty percent of the network is currently operational."

Kyle and Ackerson merely looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Well, we finally found _something_ you two can agree on." Kay smiled.

"Shut up, you're not helping." Kyle growled and turned back to Silent Caretaker. "Any luck finding Lynn and the others?"

"My scans have proven negative so far." Silent Caretaker replied. "I have been systematically scanning all areas we come across, but the Ark is a large installation and there is no point of reference to start from."

"So then we're just back at square-"

"Wait!" Silent Caretaker interjected, his eye flashing. "Encrypted signals have been detected! Exact source of the signal is unknown, but I can track it!"

"Well then do it already!" Ackerson shouted. "Finding whatever it is would be a better use of our time than just floating up here!"

"Quite." Silent Caretaker agreed. "Coordinates locked. Changing course."

**Location Unknown**

"Why are you so tense?" Sanah asked as she combed through John's biometric data. "I've checked my sensors for the fifth time and there aren't any enemies nearby."

Sanah and John had been spending the last two days wandering the Ark and trying to avoid the Flood that wandered around the bowels of the station. Sanah was not sure whether John was aware of the amount of time that had passed or not, but he never asked and never seemed too concerned about it. She was also amazed at the amount of endurance he possessed. Sanah had never seen a normal human able to withstand two straight days of constant combat and movement. Apparently, these SPARTANs really didn't need much rest and could operate for periods of time that could surpass any normal person.

"You can say that this place evokes some pretty bad memories." John said, looking carefully at the cramped Forerunner architecture that surrounded them. "Back before I got frozen, we were fighting on a Halo, which was a Forerunner facility similar to this one, but on a much smaller scale."

"I see…"

"Anyways, there was one point where I stumbled into an area called the Library, which was run by a Monitor, Guilty Spark, who was several times more idiosyncratic and insane than Silent Caretaker."

"Is that even possible?" Sanah gasped.

"Yeah." John nodded. "And for the next hour after that, it was nothing but following Guilty Spark through the same hallway over and over again waiting as he took his time opening locked doors."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad."

"With Flood coming out of every corner pretty much all the time."

"Ah, now I see." Sanah winced. "Perhaps we should stay alert then."

There was a rather tense silence as Sanah and John stalked through the halls. There were many opportunities for the Flood to strike, especially in this confined space, but for some reason, they never appeared.

"Have they forgotten about us?" Sanah wondered.

"No, the Flood don't forget." John warned. "They're waiting."

"For what?"

"For us to make a mistake."

**Valhalla**

"It's a story that reaches back two centuries to the very day we Humans as a species were exiled from Earth." Didact explained. "Back during the evacuation, thousands of ships managed to escape when the Covenant fleet arrived, but thousands more were trapped on the planet once their blockade was erected. The despair the people trapped down there felt was… immeasurable."

"Then how did they escape?" Lynn asked.

"Well, it depends on who you ask." Didact shrugged. "Some believe it was pure luck, others believe that it was divine intervention. Either way, the Covenant happened to have a Keyship in their possession and opened the portal to the Ark. The ships trapped here, with no other choice, decided to brave it and followed the Keyship to the Ark."

"That makes sense." Lynn nodded. "But if the Covenant made their way here, why haven't we seen any around, and why haven't they occupied the Ark?"

"Oh, believe me, they tried." Didact said sadly. "And unfortunately, that's the cause of our current situation."

"What happened?" Lynn whispered, already dreading the answer.

"They tried too hard, and they dug too deep in their quest to conquer the Ark." Didact said. "They tried to seize control of the Ark's systems without the use of Reclaimer. Of course, the system resisted their efforts and of course, they tried anyway. The result, well, let's just say they woke terrors that should have stayed asleep."

"The Flood?"

"Yes." Didact nodded. "By forcing their way into the Ark's systems, the Covenant almost irreparably damaged it. It wasn't limited to the Ark either. The Forerunner have countless facilities scattered throughout the galaxy, and at least one of them was where the last remnants of the Flood were imprisoned. They found a way to escape and eventually made their way here. They wiped out the Covenant force here and managed to create a foothold in the station before the Sentinels could root them out."

"Then if the Covenant were so easily wiped out, how did the Humans survive?" Lynn wondered.

"By sheer luck." Didact admitted. "And some help from the Ark's AI, Mendicant Bias. He contacted the evacuees and guided them to areas like this one. I'm not sure if you caught sight of those dual towers outside or not, but they aren't there for show. They have the power to actively repel the Flood, within a certain radius, at least."

"What is Mendicant Bias?" Lynn asked.

"He's an AI, or at least what's left of one." Didact said. "He said that the arrival of the Covenant Keyship 'completed' him, and now he's helping us as penance for some past sin he doesn't care to elaborate on."

"If he's so powerful, why can't fix the problems on this station?" Lynn wondered.

"Even with all his power, Mendicant Bias is still just a piece of the broken system." Didact sighed. "Due to certain failsafe measures, he's locked out of performing high level commands. Only Reclaimers can do that."

"But, the Monitors consider us all Reclaimers." Lynn pointed out. "Why haven't any of you ever tried?"

"Like I said, the system was irreparably damaged by the Covenant, triggering failsafe measures. One of those assumes that Reclaimers have been compromised by the Flood. The system is completely locked and the only way to access is the use of four coded phrases."

Suddenly, Lynn's visions, and Silent Caretaker's cryptic lines started making sense.

"I think I know what they are." Lynn said.

"Really?" Didact raised an eyebrow, as if he were only half-surprised.

"Well, I mean, I know I can find it," Lynn pointed to her head, "but it's just…"

"Gravemind is interfering with your thoughts." Didact concluded.

"How did you know?" Lynn asked, amazed.

"We've been stuck on this station for over two hundred years. We have our share of people with… _abnormal_ abilities, and we're no stranger to telepaths, usually because they're the most dangerous of all."

"Why's that?"

"Because," Didact sighed, "you must have realized by now that Gravemind is a vastly intelligent, intensely malevolent being. It has the uncanny ability to glean knowledge from every Flood organism as well as control all of their actions. It's this same ability that allows it to communicate with telepaths."

"But why is it so interested in me- I mean- them?" Lynn wondered.

"Because it's the best way for it to seize control of the Ark." Didact said. "But don't worry, we've been able to devise some countermeasures."

Didact then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small chip. He then carefully planted it on Lynn's right temple. "It's a psychic damper. It'll keep the Gravemind from detecting your presence, even if you use your powers, but it's vitally important that you manage them carefully."

"I've been learning how to manage all my life." Lynn remarked. She finally began to relax her mind, and felt the soothingly familiar rush of sensory input as her mind wandered through the surrounding area.

"Now that that's done." Didact smiled and offered his hand to Lynn. "How about we take a walk?"

**Earth**

"Eurale, give me a status report." Keyes sighed as he slumped in his command chair, now feeling impossibly fatigued.

"The last of the Covenant defensive force has been driven out of the system." The AI announced.

Well, that situation was certainly going to change very soon. Keyes sighed when he glanced at the tactical reports. So far, Keyes had roughly eight hundred ships and four orbital platforms at his disposal. However, they were all in high orbit due to the danger the Sentinels posed, and it was only a drop in the bucket compared to what the Covenant could send at them. Eurale had calculated that if called under emergency conditions, every Covenant warship in the immediate sector would be ordered to instantly drop their current task and be summoned to the war zone. Warships farther out would be called and immediately jumped into Slipspace. Keyes had heard reports that the Covenant had discovered a way to "overclock" their Slipspace drives, allowing them to travel in days what would normally take weeks or months. Of course, this was incalculably dangerous, but that had never stopped the Covenant before. With the vast importance Earth seemed to have to them, this was pretty much a guarantee. Eurale had predicted that at the start of hostilities, a Covenant counterattack could be expected within three to four days. Keyes had spent the time fortifying the Humans' foothold around the planet in preparation, but the constant activity had sapped his endurance and stamina to the breaking point.

"Sir, I suggest that you rest." Eurale warned. "My biometric sensors inform me that you are experiencing severe fatigue, high blood pressure, elevated heartbeat, and other signs of extreme stress. Your condition will only worsen the longer you stay awake."

"I know." Keyes admitted. "But there's still so much to do."

"Sir, you should get some sleep." Jillian said from her control station. "We've been up here with you since the beginning. You've already got the big stuff taken care of, we can handle the details."

"What is this, my junior officers giving me orders?" Keyes smiled. "I suppose I'm more tired than I thought."

"Don't worry Sir, we're just as crazy as you are." Keyes' weapons officer cracked a grin.

"Sadly, I must concur." Eurale reluctantly agreed.

"Alright." Keyes sighed and stood up from his chair. "I'll be in my quarters then. Just stick to the plan and we should be fine."

**Unknown Location**

"I've got contacts!" Sanah warned, suddenly shifting into full alert mode.

"Where?" John snapped, readying his weapon.

"They're… moving away." Sanah said, perplexed. "I've got over two dozen medium sized contacts moving away from us."

"Put it on the screen." John said.

"Wait… are we going to be _following_ them?" Sanah said, aghast. "We've spent all this time just trying to stay alive!"

"Because the Flood only pass over potential hosts if they're after something incredibly important." John said. "And that's usually _never_ good for everybody else."

"Alright." Sanah said, still somewhat skeptical. "I'm feeding the tracking data to you right now."

**Wall of Tears**

Meanwhile, not too far away, three armored figures were scaling a massive cliff, which was a combination of natural rock and Forerunner installation jutting out in various areas. They were a small foraging party from the Snowbound shelter, looking for Forerunner parts and components that the people in Snowbound always seemed to need. They had already completed their initial sweep and were on their way back to the shelter. However, that meant having to scale the Wall of Tears. Its true height was incalculable to normal Human perception. The foraging parties slowly learned over numerous trips that it took on average three days to climb from the bottom, even with their advanced power armor to assist them, to reach the nearest lift to take them up to the top of the Wall. Audrey, Reese, and Jace were already on the last leg of the climb and were only a few meters from one of the lifts.

"You know, I've always kinda wondered," Reese panted as his powered glove grabbed another handhold and pulled him up several more feet, "why the Forerunner never actually bothered putting a lift on the _bottom_ of the Wall."

"If you think it's so tough," Audrey replied playfully, "why don't you just build one down there yourself?"

"Maybe I will." Reese huffed and looked around. "Hey, where's Jace?"

"He's been lagging." Audrey said, a bit worried. "He's still a couple hundred meters below us."

"Shit, at this pace, we won't reach the lift before the Sentinels arrive." Reese shook his head.

Even now, Reese and Audrey were thankful for the Forerunner power armor they possessed. Back when their ancestors first arrived, Mendicant Bias had modified the designs for Level Nine Sentinels and converted them into semi-self intelligent, powered suits for Human use. The suits had proved crucial in helping Humanity survive the harsh conditions and dangers the Ark threw at them, as they provided superior protection and enhanced strength and stamina. However, even with these advantages, scaling the Wall of Tears was still arduous and taxing on those who had to climb it.

It was several more tiring minutes before Reese and Audrey reached the lift. They quickly clambered into the relative safety of the lift cab, which would shield them from the Sentinels' piercing eyes. However, Audrey glanced at her clock and cursed when she saw the time.

"Damnit!" Audrey keyed her radio to warn Jace. "Jace! Jace! The Sentinels are coming! Shut down your systems! All of them, or the Sentinels will find you! Jace!"

Unfortunately, all she got was static. Audrey cursed. Not even the comm systems of an ancient precursor race would work when they really needed to.

"Cut the transmission!" Reese hissed. "They'll track the signal!"

Meanwhile, two hundred meters below, Jace was still struggling to catch up to Audrey and Reese. He was almost regretful of his decision to try and follow them up the Wall of Tears, but he was determined to prove that he could scale it. Taking a deep breath, Jace began scaling the wall with newfound confidence. Suddenly, he heard a blast of static in his ear and several muffled words.

"Audrey? Reese? What was that? I can't hear you!" Jace said, dialing up his signal strength in an attempt to hear what they were trying to say. However, he then got a warning that something was behind him. He slowly turned around to see a Level Six Sentinel. Both Jace and the Sentinel stared at each other for a brief second before the Sentinel's solitary blue eye flashed.

In an instant, Jace was reduced to a massive bloodstain on the Wall. The only physical evidence of his existence was a solitary arm sheared off at the elbow, still dangling from the handhold it clutched.

Back in the lift, Audrey and Reese were deathly quiet when their sensors picked up the arrival of the Sentinel. They also had the ugly feeling that the reason Jace's life signs were immediately cut off was not due to him shutting down his suit either. However, something they didn't expect happened. The blinking dot on their sensors that represented the Sentinel suddenly winked out and never reappeared.

"What the hell…" Audrey whispered.

"Did it just… disappear?" Reese asked.

"I'm checking it out." Audrey said, slamming the door control.

"Wait! Why?"

"Because Sentinels don't just _disappear_." Audrey replied before leaping out of the lift.

"Son of a…" Reese sighed before leaping out after her.

As with all things related with gravity, jumping _down_ the Wall of Tears was infinitely simpler than climbing _up_. Audrey was completely confident as she freefell down the side of the Wall. She had gone up and down the Wall over eight hundred times, and she knew every square inch of its face. She knew for a fact that there was a ledge she could land on just two hundred twenty meters below her and that the inertial dampers in her legs would be able to absorb the impact. She landed on the ledge with a loud metallic _clang_, with Reese landing next to her just seconds later. Neither person bothered to look for Jace, since they knew that he was most likely dead, and that there wouldn't be much left of him to recover. What they were interested in, however, was the smoking hulk of what was once a Level Six Sentinel, and a lone figure standing above it.

"Holy shit! Did what I think happen really happen?" Reese cried out incredulously.

"I think it did." Audrey nodded.

"What do we do?"

"We should go meet him."

"Why?" Reese asked, a bit nervous.

"Dude, the guy just totally _wrecked_ a Level Six! That is just _badass_." Audrey gushed. "Maybe he's like, from Rat's Nest, or even Valhalla!"

"Yeah, that is pretty awesome." Reese nodded in agreement. "Oh damn, he's looking right at us!"

"Hey!" Audrey waved to the mystery figure. "HEEEEEEEEEEEY!"

"Did you just hear something?" John asked as he looked up from his most recent kill.

"It looks like you've picked up some admirers." Sanah giggled.

"What?" John turned to see two armored figures running toward him. He tensed for a second but realized that their movements and posture didn't suggest any kind of hostility at all.

When they both got near him though, he was immediately bombarded with a hail of questions.

"Who are you?"

"How'd you trash that Sentinel?"

"What shelter are you from?"

"Can you teach me to do that?"

"Whoa, I've never seen that kind of armor before! What model is it?"

"Shut up!" Sanah's voice screeched in everybody's radios. "Slow it down, _please_."

"First things first." John sighed. "My name's John, or you can call me Master Chief."

"Sure thing, Chief." One of the strangers bobbed her head. "I'm Audrey, and this fine gentleman standing beside me is Reese, both natives of good ol' Snowbound. Which shelter are you from?"

"Shelter?" John cocked his head curiously. "I wasn't aware there were any other Humans on the Ark at all."

"Holy _SHIT_!" Reese glanced at Audrey, and then back at John. "I've never heard of somebody living outside of a shelter!"

"Dude, you must be a seriously badass motherfucker!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Ummmm, sure." John sighed.

"A bit hyperactive, aren't they?" Sanah shook her nonexistent head.

"Whoa hey, your suit can talk too?" Reese inspected John's MJOLNIR armor like it was some sort of sleek, sexy car. "What are its specs?"

"Aw, you're just gonna bore him with all your techno-babble." Audrey slapped Reese's shoulder. "Even I can't understand half the stuff you say."

"Excuse me, but is there somewhere a little safer where we can do this?" Sanah asked.

"Oh, yeah, right." Audrey said, suddenly remembering where exactly they were standing. "Sure, we'll take you back to our shelter. It's just at the top of this cliff."

John craned his neck back to see the Wall of Tears stretching almost infinitely into the sky. "Wonderful."

**Location Codename: Snowbound**

"Whoa! You mean that you're a super soldier? And they like, gave you steroids and pumped metal into your bones?" Reese bounced excitedly. "That sounds so cool! Can you tell us what it was like?"

"I'd rather not." John said glumly.

"This is just too much!" Sanah giggled. "It's like you've suddenly become a dad with two kids!"

"No more words out of you, or I'm yanking you out." John growled.

"So you've literally got an AI inside your head?" Reese stared at John's mirrored visor. "What does it feel like?"

"Highly overrated, believe me."

"Man, you should really see our home!" Audrey said in excitement. "Sure, Snowbound may not be as big, or nearly as cool as the other shelters, but it's got its own little charm…"

Suddenly, all Audrey and Reese stopped in their tracks, prompting John to do the same. He was about to ask what was wrong when he looked at the horizon and quickly drew his own conclusion.

"That's…" Audrey whispered.

"Shit!" Reese cursed and armed his Sentinel beam rifle. "Let's go!"

With that, John, Reese, and Audrey rushed off toward Snowbound, where the flashes of explosions and large plumes of ugly black smoke could be seen.

**Valhalla**

Valhalla was certainly a sight to behold. It was a large city contained within a long, narrow valley. It looked surprisingly metropolitan for a place that was usually described as a "shelter", with countless buildings erected in perfect blocks with functional and practical roads and streets connecting them all. On both ends of the valley stood a pair of massive towers that hummed and glowed with invisible energy. They were the sole reason this town could exist at all. Lynn had never expected the shattered survivors to be living in a place like this. Then again, the people here had two hundred years to build it. Plus, it was Lynn's first time seeing an actual city, as she had spent her entire life confined on ships or space stations and running for her life in various ruins and uninhabited wildernesses of all kinds.

"It's quite something." Lynn gasped.

"This is home to about ten thousand people." Didact said proudly. "There's another roughly half million survivors scattered in several dozen shelters like this one."

"So, how do you manage all of this on your own?" Lynn asked.

"We don't." Didact shrugged. "We never would have gotten anywhere without Mendicant Bias helping us."

"Can we see him?"

"It's not quite that simple." Didact motioned to the sky above, which showed the rest of the Ark in the warped horizon only possible in an artificial construct. "Mendicant Bias has no actual 'core', or at least none that we can actually find. He usually manages things from the background, and only contacts us when he needs to."

"But, there are so many things I want to ask him." Lynn said glumly.

"I'm sure he'll contact you when he believes you're ready." Didact said optimistically.

Their conversation was then interrupted when an armor clad stranger immediately rushed in. He stood next to Didact and whispered something in his ear. The old man's face instantly hardened from a wizened old man to that of a battle-ready warrior. Lynn could even _feel_ the warrior's rage building up in him.

"Is something wrong?" Lynn asked, already knowing the answer.

"One of the shelters is under attack." Didact confirmed. "It's our duty to aid them."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Of course." Didact nodded and grinned. "But you're going to need some armor."


	23. Too Much Information

Chapter 23: Too Much Information

**Valhalla**

"We didn't have a lot of time to retrofit your existing armor, so we just went ahead and made a completely new suit." Didact said as he assisted Lynn in donning her new power armor. "Essentially, it should work just like your old suit, but with a bit more _oomph_ to it."

"It certainly does feel… _different_." Lynn remarked as she flexed her arm and felt the armor automatically synchronize with every muscle movement.

"It also allows you automatic access to the Ark's teleport network." Didact explained. "Come on. Advance units are already en route to Snowbound, but the main force is just about to leave."

As he said those words, over a hundred troops marched past as they marshaled at the center of Valhalla where the rest of the relief force was organizing. Waiting for them were six hundred more men with ten vehicles. They were absolutely ancient Terran vehicles the initial Human settlers had brought with them, but they had little resemblance to their original forms now. They were completely rebuilt and modified with Foreunner technology and equipment to turn them into destructive war machines.

"The troops are ready, sir." A young officer said to Didact.

"Good." Didact nodded. "Prepare for deployment. We will be teleporting in two minutes."

**Snowbound**

By the time John, Audrey, and Reese reached the settlement, the fighting was already well under way. Explosions and energy beams crisscrossed the air and the ground.

"What's going on?" Sanah asked. "Is it a Flood attack?"

"No way!" Reese shook his head. "The Snowbound towers create a field that can repel the Flood. That's the main reason why we can settle here. It's most likely another Sentinel raid."

"Yeah, but this one's gotta be _huge_." Audrey pointed out. "Most attacks never even reach the settlement itself."

As they reached the side of the settlement that wasn't caught up in the fighting, aged woman ran up to meet them.

"Audrey! Reese! You're both safe!" She hugged both kids before looking around. "Where's Jace?"

"Didn't make it." Audrey shook her head. "Grandma, what's going on?"

"It's the damn Flood again." Grandma shook her head. "They infested the hills south of here and attracted the attention of the Sentinels. Your father went to go root out the Flood when the Sentinels arrived and attacked. It's a vicious three way up there, and some of the Sentinels broke off and started attacking the settlement itself. The few defenders left here are stretched too thin to hold them off for long."

"Damnit." Audrey seethed.

"Don't worry." Audrey's grandmother said reassuringly. "Everybody's managed to evacuate to the northern end and Valhalla has promised to send reinforcements. Hurry to the hills and help your father root out those damn Flood or those Sentinels will never leave!"

"Right right." Audrey was completely flustered now. "Let's go, guys."

"Oh, and Audrey, who is this man here?" Her grandmother pointed to John.

"Uh, a friend we met." Audrey said, purposely being vague. "Right, let's go!"

"So, I assume your father's the leader of your settlement?" Sanah asked.

"You could say that." Audrey nodded as they made their way to the hills. "Dad's a… pretty interesting character."

"How so?" Sanah asked.

Suddenly, a gruff, overly aggressive voice barked through the radio on an open channel.

"What in the seven hells of Hell are you waiting for? Personal orders from the Didact himself? When I say take that damned hill, I mean take that damned hill, not damn well stand around and stare at it! I don't care if there's fifty Flood up there. I don't care if there are fifty thousand Flood up there! Our orders are to take that hill and I'm going to damn well take that hill even if it means I have to kill every last one of the yellow-skinned bastards myself. Damn it, follow me, I'll show you how it's done. That's it, get stuck in there. Medic! Stop whining, Brook, you've got another damned leg. Do you think I cried like a damned baby when I lost my arm? Course I damn well didn't. I upped and ripped that damned Flood form's damned throat out with my damned teeth! That's it, Sergeant Reed, give 'em some Forerunner steel. Jesus almighty, their blood stinks. Get that flamethrower into that trench; flush the damned bastards out. That trench, you idiot, not this one! Oh yes, smell those aliens burn. Smells better than breakfast, don't it? Give me that damn grenade. Do I have to do everything myself? See? That ain't proper armor like you'd see on a powered suit – no it's flimsy, fall-down-in-a-strong-breeze, I-hope-they-don't-spit-at-me armor. I didn't really mean spit at it! You there! Yes you! Pick up Sergeant Creek's hand. The medics might be able to stick it on him again later. Don't stop now, you damned work-shy sons of bitches, we're only damn well halfway up!"

"Audrey, your father's name wouldn't happen to be Johnson, would it?" John asked.

"How the hell did you know?"

"Just a hunch." John shrugged.

By the time they reached the hill in question, they saw a trail of destruction. Countless bodies of slaughtered Flood forms littered the ground along with the wreckage of hundreds of Sentinels. There were quite a number of Human bodies as well, but from what they could see, the Snowbound forces were cutting a swath through both enemies as they neared the summit of the hill.

"Audrey! Sweetie!" Johnson said in an uncharacteristically sweet voice when they finally arrived to the front. He then pulled off his helmet and gave Audrey a big paternal hug.

"Wait, they don't look anything alike-" Sanah started to say.

"Not her biological father." Reese explained. "Like a lot of kids around here, Audrey's orphaned."

Meanwhile, John paused, startled when he saw Johnson's face, but didn't say anything.

"And if it isn't that goddamn slacker Reese!" Johnson yelled, grabbing Reese's attention. "So what the hell have you been up to lately, other than twiddling your worthless thumbs?"

"Come on sir, that's harsh!" Reese complained.

"As always, you lack the spine to stand up and defend yourself!" Johnson yelled as a massive explosion illuminated the summit of the hill."Now pick up that weapon and shoot something with it, you damn monkey!"

"Yes sir!" Reese yelled and ran off to assist in the front.

Johnson then turned his attention to John. "And just who the hell is this pansy ass-"

Johnson then suddenly choked when he saw the Master Chief standing right there before him. Sure, his armor looked slightly different, but there was no mistaking it. It was the honest to god Master Chief.

"Chief?" Johnson gaped, taking a step forward.

"Johnson?" John's previous statements were merely joking in nature, but he had never imagined that there would be some actual truth in them.

"Well Jesus A. Christ! It really is you!" Johnson laughed. "I thought you were dead!"

"The feeling's mutual." John replied.

"Wait wait wait." Sanah cried. "You two _know_ each other?"

"Know each other? We saved each other's lives several times." Johnson laughed. "How the hell did you find your way here?"

"Long story. How did you get all the way here?"

"That's a long story, too."

"Don't we have bigger things to worry about?" Sanah pointed out.

"The girl's got a point." Johnson nodded. "We've got the Flood on the run, but the Sentinels are still being a total pain in the ass. Chief, you think you can take them out?"

"Of course."

"Good." Johnson turned to Audrey. "Audrey, you take him where he needs to go. I'll stay here and finish kicking these sons of bitches off the top of that goddamned hill!"

"But Dad-"

"Just do it! Trust me!" Johnson then turned and ran up the hill towards the front yelling, "Come on, ladies!"

Meanwhile, back in the main settlement, the Valhallan reinforcements finally arrived in the midst of the massive Sentinel onslaught. The Valhallans wasted no time in setting up defensive positions and putting up a withering hail of fire upon the Sentinels whizzing about.

"Sentinels." Didact sighed. "At least they're far more predictable than the Flood."

"Where are the Snowbound defenders?" Lynn asked, looking around.

"Committed to another action south of here." Didact explained. "They're bogged down in a three way battle between the Flood and Sentinels down there. They won't be coming to help any time soon."

"Well I guess it's up to us then." Lynn armed her rail rifle. "Let's blow up some Sentinels."

With that, the Valhallans reinforced the struggling Snowbound forces and let the Sentinels feel the full fury of the Reclaimers. Though adept at fighting off lesser enemies and the Flood, the Sentinels proved helpless at fighting foes that were just as well equipped and more motivated to fight. As Lynn advanced with the Valhallans, she had a good chance to observe how they fought. They were drilled to fight just as well as any Marine, and they were well disciplined. They had to be, now that Lynn thought about it, since they were beset on all sides by enemies dedicated to their destruction.

Within minutes, the Valhallans had pushed the Sentinels to the edges of the Snowbound settlement, but the fighting was far from over. The Sentinels were seemingly without number, crashing against the line of defenders like ocean waves.

"Will it ever end?" Lynn asked as she used her powers to crush two Sentinels like paper.

"They only subside when the Flood presence is eradicated." Didact said. "The Sentinels consider the Flood a greater threat than us, and so they prioritize Flood targets. However, that doesn't mean they won't attack us if they get the chance."

In addition to the regular Valhallans, Lynn managed to get a glimpse of their small meta-human force as well. She caught sight of a number of interesting and exotic powers. She saw one individual who could control electricity, zapping Sentinels and frying their systems. Another person could produce a passive shield around herself, blocking almost any projectile attack and serving as an effective form of protection. A third individual even had the power to create roving vortexes that literally sucked in whatever got too close, wiping out entire flights of Sentinels.

"I wonder what that son of a bitch Johnson is doing." Didact sighed as another wave of Sentinels crashed against the Valhallan lines.

**Sentinel Forge 24**

"Wow, Dad must have a lot of faith in you," Audrey said as she led John down into the depths of the Ark underneath Snowbound, "if he believes that you can take down the Sentinel Forge. A lot of people tried."

"And they all failed?"

"And they all died."

"So it's business as usual." John remarked dryly.

"So wait, how exactly do you know my dad?" Audrey wondered.

"We fought alongside each other during the Human/Covenant War two centuries ago." John said as he checked around a corner for hostiles. "He was –is- the finest soldier I ever served with. A bit foul mouthed, but he would've made an excellent Spartan."

"So… how's he still alive?" Audrey asked.

"You don't know?" John paused.

"Well, I never asked." Audrey shrugged.

"The last time I saw him, he was ambushed by a horde of Flood on a Halo and we assumed he had been killed along with the rest of his squad. We never knew exactly what happened to him after that."

"Ah." Audrey nodded and then stopped in front of a large security door.

"Is this it?" Sanah asked.

"Yeah." Audrey pointed to the door. "On the other side is the Sentinel Forge. This is where every Sentinel around Snowbound is constructed. If we can destroy it, we can pretty much end the Sentinel threats to the settlement."

"What kind of resistance can we expect?" John asked.

"Don't know." Audrey sighed. "Nobody survived long enough to tell us, so we're going in blind."

"Wait." Sanah interrupted. "I've accessed the Forge network and I'm pulling up schematics now."

Within seconds, a holographic projection of what John assumed was the entire Forge network materialized before his face. Red dots lit up as countless hostile units registered on his suit's sensors while other markers indicated doors, access points, security modules, and other useful information.

"There's a lot of stuff here." John said. "What's the plan?"

"The central control unit of the Forge is located at the center of the complex." Sanah said, putting a nav beacon over the target. "If you can get me there, I can hack the system and shut down the Forge permanently."

"How are we going to get through?" Audrey asked.

"That's going to be the big problem, isn't it?" Sanah sighed.

"We could try teleporting in, but it'll be logged in the Ark's system and pretty much just announce to everybody that we've arrived…" Audrey frowned.

"I believe I can provide some assistance."

John immediately tensed as he heard the new voice in his head and Sanah immediately fired up her anti-intrusion protocols and firewalls.

"Do not fear." The voice continued. "I am no foe of yours."

"Mendicant Bias!" Audrey cried. "Where've you been this whole time?"

"Summoning additional reinforcements." Mendicant Bias calmly replied. "However, I can provide assistance, if my fellow artificial construct would be so kind as to open her networking ports."

"But-"

"Just do it." John mentally prodded Sanah.

"Fine." Sanah reluctantly shut down her firewalls and gaped at the data the Forerunner AI was sending her. "What… what is this?"

"Codes and sensor data that will allow you to mimic the presence of a Monitor unit." Mendicant Bias replied. "It should shield your presence from their sensors until you reach the central control unit. Unfortunately, that is the limit of my ability to directly assist you."

"That's… that's more than enough." Audrey stammered. "Thank you."

"I do hope that you succeed." Mendicant Bias remarked before disappearing again. "A shame that your predecessors could not tip the odds in your favor, but I have faith in you three. Your chances of success are forty seven percent, a twenty six percent improvement."

**Snowbound**

"This is certainly troublesome." Didact panted as he melted another Sentinel with his beam rifle. "It seems as if they're coming without number."

"Didact! What'd we miss?" Johnson said as he and a platoon of Snowbound toopers arrived on the field.

"Johnson, I see you've been successful." Didact said dryly.

"Got those damn smelly freaks on the run." Johnson confirmed. "I've got a whole company holding the hills. The rest are on their way back to shore up the defenses. "

"I don't think we'll need them." Lynn smiled.

"Oh, and why's that?" Johnson asked.

"Try looking up." Lynn pointed to the sky.

Both Didact and Johnson looked up to see a massive, Forerunner ship floating above their heads.

"Well god almighty…" Johnson said, speechless.

**Keyship**

"Oh my." Silent Caretaker's eye blinked. "It appears we've stumbled upon a camp of Reclaimers."

"What?" Kyle ran forward to the observation deck.

"Interesting." Ackerson raised an eyebrow.

"How can there be Humans here?" Kay wondered.

"I'm afraid I lack sufficient data to provide and answer." Silent Caretaker said. "But I can confirm that these particular Reclaimers are not native to the Ark."

"Obviously." Kay rolled her eyes.

"And it appears that they are under attack by Sentinels."

"Shouldn't we help?" Kyle asked.

"You know," Ackerson stepped forward, "I'm actually very interested in seeing what kind of armaments this Keyship has."

"Oh, well then you won't be disappointed." Silent Caretaker said happily. "The Keyship was originally a dreadnought-class warship, and still possesses its original weaponry. It does have one system that would be particularly well suited to the issue at hand."

"Let's see it then." Ackerson grinned.

With an electronic command from Silent Caretaker, hundreds of firing ports opened up along the sides of the Keyship There was the gentle hum of weapons powering up until seconds later, hundreds of tiny pinpricks of light lanced out, each beam spearing a Sentinel. A split second later, hundreds of Sentinels exploded and the process was repeated and more and more hostile blips began winking out of existence on the sensor screen.

"If you desire, I can teleport you to the ground." Silent Caretaker offered.

"Do it." Ackerson responded.

**Snowbound**

"Kyle!" Lynn embraced Kyle the moment he materialized from his teleport. Kyle was taken by surprise at first, but ultimately felt relief when he realized that Lynn was okay.

"Lynn, how did you know-?" Kyle then looked at Lynn face and blinked. "Right, stupid question."

"So, how exactly did you end up here? Who the hell are these people?" Kyle asked, glancing at Didact and Johnson.

"Well," Lynn motioned to Didact. "That's Didact, the de facto leader of the Human survivors on the Ark, and…. I'm not too sure who the other guy is."

"You should try showing some manners, lady!" Johnson said, clearly offended.

"Didact, this is Kyle. He's one of my companions."

"I see." Didact nodded.

"Ah, these developments just get more and more interesting." Ackerson smiled as he walked in. "Stryker Ackerson, at your service."

"A pleasure." Didact said, clearly not enjoying Ackerson's presence. Lynn could have sworn that Didact was frowning heavily under the helmet he was wearing., but didn't think much of it. A lot of people didn't really have a good first impression of Ackerson anyway.

"Lynn! Great to see you're okay!" Kay laughed as she slapped Lynn on the back. "What've you been up to? Where's John?"

"I honestly have no idea where he went." Lynn shook her head. "And I'm worried about Sanah too. She may be an AI, but she doesn't work well alone…"

"Wait…" Johnson stepped forward. "You're talking John the Master Chief, right? He was with you guys?"

"Um yeah." Kyle blinked. "You know him?"

Lynn was finally curious enough to give Johnson's mind a quick cursory probe and realized that he was the same as John, person displaced from his own time. She also saw what he was up to in the last hour.

"Know him? We were like brothers!" Johnson laughed.

"Huh?" Kyle tilted his head, confused.

"Where's this Sentinel Forge?" Lynn asked.

"Wait, how did you-?" Johnson shook his head. "Aw hell no. You picked up another telepath, Didact? You remember what happened to the last one?"

"It's different this time." Didact said defensively.

"Sure, it's all fun and games until somebody gets brain fried by the Gravemind." Johnson shook his head.

"Can we please get back to the point?!" Lynn sent a sharp psychic jolt to everybody around her. "Where's the Forge?"

**Sentinel Forge**

"Oh _you've got to be kidding me_." Audrey shook her head when the alarms blared.

"Sanah, what happened?" John asked, glancing at the Forerunner control console Sanah had wirelessly accessed.

"Uhhh, I might have accidentally tripped a security subroutine or two." Sanah said sheepishly.

"Can you shut it down?"

"I'm working on it!" Sanah said in her "don't disturb me" voice.

"Great, we could've just teleported in and saved us the boring walk all the way here." Audrey shook her head and armed her beam rifle.

Immediately, panels along the walls of the room popped open, revealing large chutes that began spitting out swarms of Sentinels, as if they were being cranked out of a factory. Then again, John thought, they were in a _Sentinel Forge_ so he supposed the metaphor was very literal.

"So, any ideas?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, don't die."

"Wonderful."

Like a swarm of angry insects, the Sentinels swarmed in, their energy beams crisscrossing the air with ribbons of light. John and Audrey took cover behind a set of pillars and returned fire. The mechanical defenders shattered and exploded from the more precise fire John and Audrey put up, but the sheer volume of fire more than made up for the Sentinels' lack of skill and initiative. Audrey shrieked as she was bracketed by a half dozen beams at once, instantly depleting her shields, and burning deep scores and holes in her armor. With lightning speed, John shoved Audrey's writhing body out of the line of fire and expended his last rail rifle clip gunning down the Sentinels. John knelt down to check Audrey's condition and didn't have high hopes. Her armor was almost completely scorched black and there were parts where it looked as if the Sentinel beams had almost completely burned through. However, John breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Audrey cursing over how her suit was wrecked.

"Crap! If the Sentinels don't kill me, my dad will!"

"John!" Sanah's voice cried. "Take her to the console!"

John quickly picked up Audrey and carried her to the console. Suddenly, an energy bubble formed around the console, providing a small radius of protection from the Sentinels.

"This shield is supposed to protect the console as a security measure." Sanah explained. "But I don't know how long it's going to hold up against the assault."

Already, over two dozen Sentinels flitted about outside the shield, unloading their beams straight into the protective barrier in an attempt to destroy it. It was obvious to John that it wouldn't hold for long.

"Sanah, get ready to lower the shield just long enough for me to get out." John said.

"Wait, but here's no way we can-"

"Yes there is. You should know what it is." John said. "A full reflex synch."

"But that's insanely dangerous!" Sanah protested. "Using that could result in permanent brain damage… or worse."

"As if the alternative is any better?" John pointed to the Sentinels outside trying to breach the shield.

"You can't do this alone." Audrey said trying to get up. "Let me-"

"Oh no." John shoved Audrey back. "You're in no condition to fight, and I can't imagine what Johnson will do to me if I let you get yourself killed."

"Okay, are you ready?" Sanah asked.

"Go." John nodded.

The moment the shield dropped the world slowed down to a crawl. For a brief moment, John saw something no living thing in the galaxy had ever seen. He saw the world through the eyes of an AI. Inside his head, his brain lit up like a bonfire as he, Sanah, and his armor moved in complete, perfect unison. The Sentinels were nothing but ornaments hanging in the sky, and John was their inevitable doom.

From her perspective, Audrey saw John as a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was sprinting toward the Sentinel formation. The Sentinels responded by firing their beams at him, and Audrey half expected John to be cut down by the wall of energy, but he ducked, dodged, and weaved through past every beam as if they were not even moving at all. Audrey wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she was absolutely certain that she couldn't blinked more than five or six times before every single Sentinel in the room was a burning heap of wreckage. It was unlike anything Audrey had ever seen, as if she had just witnessed a God of War.

For a brief second, Audrey thought she was in love.

"Done!" Sanah yelled.

With that, the entire Forge went dark, and the few Sentinels that were still intact fell to the ground like deadweight.

"Are we done?" John asked, suddenly feeling massively fatigued after he and Sanah desynched. Everything was suddenly a blur and he felt dizzy and nauseous as his regular reflexes attempted to readjust to "normal" levels.

"The Forge is officially cold." Sanah said happily.

"I… I can't believe it." Audrey stood up and hugged John. "That was _the coolest thing I've ever seen!_"

At that moment, Lynn, Didact, Johnson, Kyle, and a platoon of Valhallan troops teleported in, ready to fight a battle that was already over.

"Oh yeah, great timing." Audrey said sarcastically.

"Chief!" Johnson laughed and slapped John on the back. "I knew you could do it, you hardcore son of a bitch!"

"John, you're okay!" Lynn said happily and then looked around. "Where's Sanah?"

"Uhhh, I'm right here." A small holographic representation of Sanah materialized in front of John's helmet.

"Huh? How'd you get in there?" Lynn asked.

"Long story." Sanah shrugged.

"I do have to commend you." Didact took off his helmet, smiled, and shook John's hand. "You've done the people of Snowbound an invaluable service."

"It's _you!_" Sanah gasped, pointing at Didact, her blue holographic form briefly flashing red in alarm.

"What're you railing on about, Sanah?" Lynn asked.

"Lynn! What the hell?!" Sanah's eyes widened in shock. "How can you not recognize your own father?"


	24. Family Tree

AN: Yes, I know this chapter is WAAAAAAAAAAAY overdue, but I ran into a buttload of distractions over the past few months like college… and WoW… and DOTA… and a whole lot of other things…. Point is, I'm still alive and have a new chapter up (finally)!

Chapter 24: Family Tree

**Sentinel Forge**

"He's my _what_?!?" Lynn exclaimed.

"He's your _what!?_" Kyle gaped.

"You're her _what?!?_" Johnson glanced at Didact.

"Perhaps this would be a conversation better conducted in private." Didact said. "Mendicant."

"As you wish." The AI replied dutifully. Suddenly, there was a bright flash as everybody in the room was instantaneously teleported.

_**Weatherlight**_

"I suppose I should explain the full story, seeing as I wasn't entirely truthful to you." Didact sighed.

"You sure as hell should!" Lynn seethed with a mixture of surprise, relief, anger, and frustration. Having a father she had never met suddenly appear out of the blue awakened many deeply repressed emotions. Hell, she could barely even remember his name, apart from when Keyes would occasionally talk about him. What was his name anyways? That's right, it was Dallen. Dallen Wellings.

"It's not easy dealing with this, even for me." Dallen sat in one of the ruined chairs in the _Weatherlight's_ bridge, his eyes nostalgically scanning the abandoned ship with a mixture of amusement and sadness. "Honestly, I was hoping neither of us would run into this situation."

"Keyes said you and Mom were dead." Lynn shook her head, trying to make sense of things.

"I'm not surprised, Keyes probably didn't want you to end up like me and you mother." Dallen smiled bitterly. "Seeing how things ended up for us, I can't blame him."

"What happened? What were you and mom doing?" Lynn asked.

"Perhaps it would be better if you see it rather than hear me speak about it." Dallen pointed to his temple. "Don't be afraid. It's not like I have anything to hide from you."

"Is... is it safe here?" Lynn looked around at the ruined remains of her parents' ship.

"The bridge is completely sealed off from the outside. Even if the Flood knew we were here, there would be no way for them to get in."

"A-alright then." Lynn slowly reached out and touched her father's head with her hand.

**Snowbound**

Meanwhile, the rest of the party found themselves standing in the middle of Snowbound. With both the Flood and Sentinel threat neutralized, things were already beginning to settle down. Civilians began filing out of buildings and shelters to assess and repair damage, while soldiers stayed vigilant in case they had missed something. With their job done, soldiers from the neighboring shelters, including Valhalla, began making the trek back to their homes.

As before, the Keyship that had so suddenly arrived floated high above the settlement like a silent watcher. The ship attracted a gaggle of onlookers, who had never seen such a thing before. However, they were soon quickly herded away by soldiers more interested in keeping order than asking questions.

"Where'd Lynn and that other guy go off to?" Kyle asked, looking around.

"Probably went off to his private spot." Johnson shrugged. "Didact is a pretty secretive guy. Never really liked to socialize much."

"Are you sure he's supposed to be Lynn's father?" Kyle glared at Sanah, or rather, her miniature holographic representation.

"With a ninety seven percent degree of accuracy." Sanah said. "Even though it conflicts with my logic subroutines, there's no other conclusion."

"But still-"

"The man you know as Didact is in fact Dallen Wellings." Ackerson cut Kyle off. "I should know, since I and Keyes have worked with the man well before you and Lynn were born."

"But, didn't Keyes say that Lynn's parents were dead?" Kay scratched her head curiously. "How do you explain that?"

"Quite simple, really." Ackerson shrugged. "Keyes never really knew for sure whether Dallen or Rachel were alive or not. He simply decided to cover up that fact to keep people from asking questions."

"He'd never do something like that." Kyle shook his head.

"Kyle, my dear, naïve boy, Keyes is quite capable of doing many things." Ackerson responded. "But, we're veering off point here. What piques my interest is you, Sergeant Johnson. You're a man who, in all respect, shouldn't even be alive. Yet, here you stand in front of us in the flesh."

"I've been wondering the same thing." John agreed.

"Right, I promised you an explanation, didn't I?" Johnson sighed. "It all started back on Halo…"

**Alpha Halo Installation 04  
Year 2552**

For what seemed like the millionth time, things had gone to Hell.

In one second, what was supposed to be a combat patrol to root out Covenant stragglers turned into a scene from _Aliens_. Strange little alien creatures began pouring out of every opening and corner and swarming over Johnson and his squad.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell are these things!?" Jenkins screamed as he blasted away at the alien tide at full auto.

"Less questions, more shooting!" Johnson yelled back, trying to keep some form of order with his squad. "Fall back to the door and stagger your fire so they don't catch us reloading!"

"Screw this, I'm outta here!" Mendoza's frayed nerves finally snapped and he broke from combat. The rest of the squad looked to be on the verge of following him.

"HOLD THE LINE!" Johnson was determined to keep his squad together. If they broke now, it would be over. "Or I will personally shoot the next motherfucker who decides to break!"

Johnson and his squad kept firing as they backpedaled furiously to the exit, but the alien swarm proved to be too numerous and coming from too many directions. From his peripheral view, Johnson could see several of his Marines falling as they were covered by the alien lifeforms. When he finally reached the exit, he didn't hesitate to step out and hit the locking mechanism.

"All right! Roll call! Call it out!" Johnson said, dreading what he would hear.

"Keyes here." Admiral Keyes said.

"Jenkins!"

"Bisenti!"

"Dubbo!"

"Is that all?" Johnson asked. If it were true, he had just lost half of his squad. "Damnit!"

"Jesus, what the hell do we do?" Jenkins asked. "We never went up against things like those before!"

"Shut it, private!" Johnson snapped. "We do what we always do. Complete the mission and kill any poor bastard who gets in our way!"

"I suggest we keep moving." Keyes said. "It would be safe to assume that there may be more of those things out there."

"You're damn right, Admiral." Johnson nodded. "Alright, let's do this! Bisenti, you're on point!"

"Oh shit, here they come!" Jenkins pointed down the hall, where another wave of Flood infection forms began pouring in.

"Go go go! MOVE damnit!" Johnson urged his remaining men. They sprinted down the hall, away from certain doom only to round the corner and find something even worse.

They found Mendoza, or rather, what used to be him, shambling towards them like a crazed animal. It didn't take eagle eyes to spot the ugly alien growths and mutations covering his body either. Bisenti, who was up front, yelped in fright and emptied his entire clip into the thing that was Mendoza. The creature then exploded in a manner that was both magnificent and disgusting.

"Holy shit! What the hell did they do to Mendoza?!" Bisenti gasped.

"No time for questions! Keep moving!" Johnson reminded them of the tide of Flood forms just behind them.

As they made a beeline for the lift, more Flood forms began pressing in on them, and not just the small infection forms, but full sized combat forms. They proved to be much harder to take down than the infection forms, which made them significantly larger threats. Even worse, some of them were their squadmates, who just several minutes ago had been alive and well, only to be turned into these alien abominations in a matter of seconds.

"I don't think we're gonna make it, Sarge!" Jenkins wailed.

"Shut up and move!" Johnson tried to stamp out the private's doubts, but he knew that if some of them didn't stay behind to act as a rearguard, then the entire squad would be overwhelmed while waiting for the lift.

"Bisenti! You're with me!" Johnson yelled, holding his position. "We'll hold them off at this corridor while the others get that lift running!"

"Yes sir!" Bisenti took position alongside Johnson. He pulled out a bandolier of frag grenades and tossed one down the corridor, blowing apart the oncoming wave of Flood and disrupting their attack for a few precious seconds.

"Admiral! Get going to that lift! We'll catch up with you!" Johnson urged.

Of course, both he and Keyes knew that Johnson's chances of survival were almost zero. However, the hard truth was that Johnson was more expendable than the Admiral.

"Godspeed, Sergeant." Keyes whispered. It was the last time either men would ever see each other ever again.

The two Marines kept up their fire well after the lift disappeared into the shaft above. With a lot of luck, Keyes would send the lift back down and they would have a slim chance of actually reaching the surface alive. Unfortunately, the Flood had other plans. They eventually overwhelmed Bisenti while he was reloading his rifle, clawing and pounding on him. Not wanting to become a mutated monster like them, Bisenti pulled the pin from one of the grenades on his bandolier, but not before yelling, "Sarge! Run!"

Johnson didn't hesitate and he dove for cover as all of Bisenti's grenades exploded simultaneously. Even though he reacted quickly, Johnson misjudged the power of the blast and was knocked into the wall by the shockwave. Stunned and down, Johnson knew he had no chance against the oncoming Flood. Within seconds, they recovered from the blast and were swarming all over him. He felt dozens of sharp, painful stabs in his back, but nothing happened. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that the infection forms were confused. Seconds later, golden energy beams arced out and burned the infection forms off of him with alarming precision.

"What the hell are you tin cans?" Johnson asked the newly arrived Sentinels, perplexed.

"Scanning area for additional infection." One of the Sentinels squawked in a monotone, robotic voice.

"Infection index is ninety three percent. Area is deemed compromised and a liability for future operation." Another Sentinel muttered.

"The Monitor concurs. Immediate extermination protocols will be enacted."

"Stop." One of the Sentinels centered its sapphire blue eye on Johnson. "This organic subject possesses an infection index of zero percent."

"Confirmed. Relaying data to the Monitor." The Sentinels silently hovered in the air for a second. Just as Johnson was thinking about trying to slip away, they suddenly reactivated. "Subject is to be detained and transported to the Ark for further study."

The last thing Johnson remembered was seeing a bright flash of blue light followed by blackness.

**Snowbound**

"And after that, the next thing I remember was when Didact cracked me out of stasis pod. Nearly punched out the son of a bitch when he told me two hundred years passed!" Johnson grinned. "I can only assume you spent the last few years in cold storage too, Chief?"

"More or less." John said humorlessly.

"What about Keyes and the others? Where are they?"

John could only shake his head sadly.

"Oh…" Johnson sighed. "You know, logically, none of them could be alive today, but there was always that vague hope that maybe, just maybe, they ended up just like I did. Guess I wasn't all wrong, huh?"

**The Ark  
Twenty Years Ago**

There was no going back now.

Here, on the edge of the galaxy, the answer Dallen and Rachel sought lay in the infinite darkness beyond. As it did for its entire life, the _Weatherlight_ soldiered on with its ailing engines as it sought the next safe port in the inhospitable reaches of space.

"Do you think it's really out here?" Rachel asked, staring out of the ship's viewport.

"It has to be. You read the data too." Dallen said.

"I know, but, is it worth it?" Rachel bit her lip. "Don't you remember all we sacrificed on this journey?"

"We've sacrificed a lot of things." Dallen said grimly.

"But our own_ daughter!?_" Rachel's eyes burned with a mixture of anger and despair as she said those words.

"Yes, even Lynn." Dallen stared out into space with a determined expression. "What we're doing isn't just for her, it's for all of us. We deserve to have a place to call home."

That finally seemed to quiet Rachel, but Dallen knew that she was still very uneasy about the entire affair. Actually, Dallen was also angry and disappointed at himself for having to make such a difficult call. However, he couldn't afford to squander a decades long journey for sentimental reasons, especially now, when they were so close to the end of the long, difficult road.

Suddenly, the sensors squawked as they detected a new contact, snapping Dallen and Rachel back to the situation at hand.

"What have we got?" Rachel asked.

"I don't but it's gigantic." Dallen gaped as he read the data. "The size of a small planet, but that can't be possible…"

"Oh my god…" Rachel pointed out of the viewport. "Look!"

There, like a glittering jewel against the infinite blackness beyond the galaxy was a construct of unimaginable size and scope. In all of the Forerunner installations, bases, and cities they had explored, neither Dallen nor Rachel had seen anything like this. The Ark was essentially an artificial planet, complete with its own working biosphere.

"How could anybody build something like that?!?" Rachel gaped. "And I thought _High Charity_ was huge…"

"Too bad it doesn't exist anymore, or we could have compared sizes." Dallen joked weakly.

"Wait, we're being hailed." Rachel looked at the communications console. "I think the Ark is trying to message us."

"Looks automated." Dallen frowned as he analyzed the message. "Crap, it's asking for a passcode."

"Well, say something!"

"I'm trying!" Dallen typed some keys into the communications console, only to be rewarded with rather alarming beeping sound. "Shit!"

In seconds, _Weatherlight_ was bombarded by a rain of golden energy emanating from the Ark. Fortunately as a rule, Dallen and Rachel always had the ship's shields powered whenever possible, a habit they learned to pick up the hard way over years of dangerous space exploration. With the shields taking the brunt of the attacks, Dallen and Rachel had enough time to take the helm and begin evasive maneuvers.

"Typical." Dallen sighed as he weaved the _Weatherlight_ through the web of energy. The small and nimble corvette was more than able to handle a defense network designed to ward off waves of large, heavy warships.

"Shields are at sixty three percent!" Rachel said nervously. Two shots and they already lost a third of their shield energy.

"And we aren't even halfway there." Dallen growled as several more beams grazed their shields.

"And… we just lost engine power."

"Damn."

**The Ark  
Thirty Minutes Later**

"She was a nice ship." Dallen said sadly as he looked at the ruined wreck of the _Weatherlight_.

"We'll find a way to get her back." Rachel tried to reassure her husband, but they both knew that with the engines fried, the power core cold, and the superstructure compromised, _Weatherlight_ would never fly again.

The crash had brought them to a massive Forerunner bridge spanning a wide chasm. Since the _Weatherlight_ was blocking one end of the bridge, there was really only one way to go. They trekked for what felt like an eternity. It didn't help that the majority of the structures they had to navigate through were overly large and repetitive. Eventually, they came across what looked like a battlefield. Bullet holes, carbon scoring, and destroyed Sentinels lay all over the ground.

"Can it be…?" Rachel's eyes widened as she examined the damage.

"The bullets are definitely human-made." Dallen picked up a spent shell casing and examined it. "There's still residual heat. It probably couldn't have been fired more than a minute ago."

As if on cue, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of gunfire and the whine of Sentinel energy cannons. Rachel and Dallen both sprinted over to the commotion to see a knot of ragtag humans battling with a wave of Sentinels. The humans were wearing a mishmash of clothing and armor, and were armed with scavenged Sentinel weapons.

"What are humans doing here…?" Rachel wondered.

"I don't know, but it looks like they need help." Dallen armed his rail rifle and pumped rail rounds into the Sentinels. Unlike the primitive, chemical propelled bullets, the rail rounds easily punched through their shields and armored hulls, instantly knocking out several of the robotic drones. Rachel lent her firepower to the fight in a few short minutes, the battle was already over.

"Thanks for the help." One of the ragtag humans poked his head out of cover and welcomed Dallen and Rachel. "I haven't seen any of you around. What settlement are you from?"

"Uh," Dallen glanced at Rachel and shrugged. There wasn't really any point to lying to them about it. "The _Weatherlight_."

"Huh, never heard of it." The man frowned. "The name's Milo, by the way. We're from Valhalla. What brings you out to this dangerous place on such a fine day?"

"Sightseeing." Dallen remarked.

"Well, I wish we had it as easy as you!" Milo grumbled. "Our goddamn reactor is starting to go cold, which means we have to go patch in to the station's power grid."

"You have an understanding of Forerunner technology?" Dallen's eyes widened, utterly fascinated.

"Of course. Mendicant Bias taught us how to work it." Milo shrugged.

"Who?" Dallen raised an eyebrow.

"Goddamn, you must've been under a real big rock not to have heard of him." Milo scratched his head. "Where exactly are you from?"

"These two individuals are not natives of the Ark." A ghostly, disembodied voice echoed through the halls.

"An AI?" Rachel asked.

"How perceptive." The artificial voice said. "It is rather encouraging to know that the Reclaimers have managed to survive in areas outside of the Ark."

"Whoa, hold on a sec there." Milo gasped. "Outsiders?! We've still got people out there?"

"More or less." Dallen sighed.

"Well what brings you out into this dark little corner of the galaxy?" Milo said sarcastically. "Not for the fabulous view, I hope."

"We're here to find a way to Earth." Rachel answered.

"After all the trouble our ancestors went through to try and get off of it? Boy, you two really are crazy." Milo shook his head.

"I do sympathize with your plight." Mendicant Bias said. "But unfortunately, that is not possible at this time, unless you happen to know the manual override for the Ark's failsafe systems."

"I thought Forerunner technology was supposed to work automatically for humans." Dallen wondered why that wasn't the case here.

"Under ideal conditions, it should." Mendicant Bias said sadly. "Unfortunately, such is not the case."

"Tell us more…"

**Five Years Later**

"Incoming!" Johnson yelled as a fresh wave of Flood combat forms charged at them.

"All units fire!" Dallen ordered. The human assault force pumped volleys of energy into the tide of alien flesh, demolishing the wave of Flood like the countless ones that came before it. "Rachel, we need those doors open _now_!"

"What do you think I've been trying to do all this time?" Rachel said, exasperated. "It's not like I enjoy fighting Flood any more than you do!"

"Why don't you two lovebirds just shut it and do your goddamn jobs!" Johnson snapped. "My god, it's like I'm babysitting a bunch of five year olds!"

Behind the door they were trying to break through lay Dallen and Rachel's greatest mistake. They had dabbled in things they shouldn't have and were now forced to pay the price. In the years prior, Dallen and Rachel had been trying to explore ways to activate the override. They thought the answer lay in those rare few humans gifted with telepathy, but things went horribly wrong.

They had never counted on the Gravemind.

Their most promising student, Lilly, had somehow been possessed or corrupted by the Gravemind. Now she was slowly making her way to the chamber Mendicant Bias had managed to seal Gravemind in. The AI made it very clear that under no circumstances was the Gravemind allowed to escape its prison. Such an event would most likely doom the entire Ark.

"_Why do you fight against that which you cannot defeat? We are eternal. We are perfection. We are… one." _Lilly's disembodied voice cackled in their heads.

"Don't do this, Lilly." Dallen said, knowing that she, or whatever she had become, could still hear him. "You'll doom us all if you open that chamber."

"_Doom? You can't imagine how glorious it is to part of its grand plan…"_

"I got it!" Rachel yelled as the door opened. However, as soon as that happened, she and everybody else were instantly incapacitated by a piercing, psychic shriek. Dallen clutched his head in pain, as it felt as if a swarm of countless spiders were swarming all over his brain.

"_Foolish beings, clinging to your pitiful notions or morality and reason. What are you, compared the greatness that is the Flood?"_

"You know," Rachel slowly got up, clutching her head and trying to stem the flow of blood from her ears. "I'm starting to get really tired of that bitch."

Before Dallen could ask, Rachel, in a feat of sheer willpower, stormed into the opened room, her beam rifle blazing. Lilly at first disregarded what she saw as a minor threat. With a twitch of her finger, Lilly summoned a fresh horde of Flood forms that swarmed all over her. She never even once readjusted her weapon to defend herself, and kept it trained on Lilly.

"No!" Dallen tried to bring his beam rifle in line to fire on the Flood, but with all the shrieking in his head, the best he could manage was a wild, random spray of shots.

Finally, Lilly couldn't ignore Rachel anymore, especially now that her shields were being drained. With an almost casual flick of her wrist, she sent a shard of Sentinel debris spinning through the air, striking Rachel in the heart. However, as a last parting shot, Rachel drew a bundle of scavenged plasma grenades, which exploded violently, engulfing her, Lilly, and the Flood in a brilliant and deadly cloud of plasma.

"Rachel!" Dallen sprinted forward, not even caring about the Flood all around him. It took everything Johnson and his squad had to keep them off him and mop up the survivors.

In a panicked rush, Dallen quickly shoved aside the charred remains of the Flood forms, and only noted Lilly's incinerated corpse with only the most casual of glances. He quickly found Rachel, still barely alive, and cradled her frail form in his arms. The force of the blast had nearly shredded her in half at the midsection, and there were severe burns across a large portion of her body. Even with instant medical assistance, there was no way for her survive such grievous injuries. It was a miracle she was even alive at all.

"Rachel…"

"Ha. We really screwed up this time, didn't we?" Rachel grinned, seemingly oblivious to her condition. "But… we can't afford to lose hope that we'll get it right someday."

Even though Rachel's eyes were shut as a result of her ordeal, she was still very much aware of what was happening. However, she still somehow found the willpower to maintain her smile and try to sound encouraging.

"This rain… feels warm." Rachel said wistfully. Dallen didn't have to heart to tell her that it was his tears flowing down from his eyes. "I'm sure… the rainbow will be… gorgeous."

With those final words, Rachel Wellings sighed and relaxed for the last time in her life. The surviving humans, who had grown to view Rachel as a sort of mother figure, slowly gathered around and hung their heads low in a mixture of both sadness and respect. Johnson, stoic as ever, but visibly holding back tears, snapped to attention and saluted the fallen warrior. His men quickly followed suit.

To Dallen, it wasn't nearly enough to console his loss.

"I'm sorry to intrude in such an… inconvenient time, but I would like to report that Rachel's sacrifice was not in vain." Mendicant Bias announced. "The seals in Gravemind's prison remain intact."

Dallen, however, was not listening. He had delicately picked up Rachel's body and was slowly trudging off into the distance.

"Sir, where are you going?" One of his men asked, obviously worried.

"I'm going to take her to that place where she said the view was magnificent… one last time."

Nobody made a move to stop him as he slowly wandered off.

**Present**

By the time Lynn broke contact, she found she had been crying uncontrollably. Instinctively, she dove forward and hugged her father as hard as she could.

"Is that why, you became Didact?"

"I read the history logs of the Ark, and it contained the story about two Forerunner, the Didact and the Librarian. I found their story to be poetically… tragic. I could understand what the Didact had to experience, so likewise I took up his title, in an effort to get rid of the pain."

"Did it work?" Lynn asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not at all."

Suddenly, something seemed to snap in Lynn's brain, as if somebody inside had flipped a light switch, as a sudden idea had stormed through her mind. "Dad, I think I know!"

"Know what?" He asked curiously.

"How to control the Ark!"


End file.
